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t 

“A DAILY RATE 


i 


GRACE LIVINGSTON HILL, 

AUTHOR OF 

Chautauqua Jdj/l” In the Way,' Lone Pointy' 
“ Katharine's Yesterday etc. 



<1122 CHESTNUT STREET- 


1 


7 ^ 

\\65 


l^ibrary of Congress 

Two Copies Received 


JUL 10 1900 

Copyright entry 

OfUu^S', t^o-o 
SECOND copy. 

D«!wemJ te 

irw» 


65327 

[Copyright, 1900, by The American Sunday-School Union.] 


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“A Daily Rate.” 


CHAPTER I. 

The world would not have looked quite so 
dreary to her perhaps, if it had not been her 
birthday. Somehow one persists in expecting 
something unusual to happen on a birthday, 
no matter how many times one has had noth- 
ing but disappointment. 

]^ot that Celia Murray was really expecting 
anything, even a letter, on this birthday, though 
she did stand shivering in the half light of the 
dim, forlorn front room that served as a par- 
lor for Mrs. Morris’ boarding-house, watching 
for the postman to reach their door. She did 
it merely because she wished to be near, to 
get the letter at once, — provided there was a 
letter, — and not that she really hoped for one. 

It was Saturday evening, and the close of a 
half holiday in the store in which she usually 
stood all day long as saleswoman. The un- 
usual half day off was on account of some 
parade in the city. Celia had not spent her 

3 


4 


DAILY EATEA' 


afternoon at the parade. Instead, she had been 
in her small, cold, back bedroom in the third 
story, attending to various worn garments 
Avhich needed mending. They had been spread 
out on the bed in a row, and she had gone 
steadily down the line putting a few stitches 
here, a button there, and setting in a patch in 
another, counting every minute of daylight 
hoping to finish her work before it faded, for 
the gas in her room was dim, the burner being 
old and worn out. She tried to be gay over 
the work. She called it her “ dress parade.” 
She knew it was the best way in which to ac- 
complish as much as she wished to do. 

And now it was six o’clock, and she had 
turned down the wretched, flickering light in 
her room and descended to the parlor to watch 
for the postman. 

He was late to-night, probably on account 
of the parade. She leaned her forehead 
against the cold glass and looked out into the 
misty darkness. Everything was murky and 
smoky. The passers-by seemed tired and in a 
hurry. Some had their collars turned up. 
She wondered where they were all going, and 
whether there were pleasant homes awaiting 
them. She let her imagination picture the 
homes of some. There was a young working 
man hurrying along with breezy step and 


A DAILY RATEA^ 


5 


swinging dinner pail. He had not been to the 
parade. His parade was at home awaiting his 
coming, — a laughing baby, a tidy wife, and 
the house redolent of fried onions and sausage. 
She had passed houses often at night where 
these odors were streaming forth from quickly 
opened and closed doors. The young man 
would like it; it would be pleasant to him. 
And the thought brought no less cheer to the 
watching girl because to her this supper would 
not be in the least appetizing. 

There passed by a strong old German, a day 
laborer perhaps. She pictured the table full 
of noisy children of various ages, and the 
abundance of sauerkraut and cheese and coffee 
and other viands set out. Then came a stream 
of girls, some clerks like herself, and some 
mill girls. On other evenings they would 
present a different appearance, but many of 
them to-night were in holiday attire on ac- 
count of the half holiday which had been gen- 
erally given throughout the city. These girls, 
some of them, had homes of more or less at- 
tractiveness, and others, like herself, were 
domiciled in boarding-houses. She sat down 
on one of the hard haircloth chairs and 
looked around that parlor. In the dimness of 
the turned down gas, it appeared more forlorn 
than usual. The ingrain carpet had long ago 


6 


A DAILY BATE.'' 


lost any claims to respectability. It had a 
dragged out, sodden appearance, and in places 
there were unmistakable holes. These, it is 
true, had been twisted and turned about so as 
to come mostly under the tables and sofa, but 
they were generally visible to the casual ob- 
server. The parlor suite of haircloth, by rea- 
son of being much sat upon, had lost the spring 
of youth, and several of the chairs and one 
end of the sofa looked like fallen cake. There 
Avas an asthmatic cabinet organ at the end of 
the room Avhich had been left by some depart- 
ing boarder, (under compulsion) in lieu of his 
board. There Avere a few Avorn pieces of 
music scattered upon it. Celia knew that the 
piece noAv open on the top Avas that choice se- 
lection “ The Cat came back,” Avhich Avas a 
great favorite with a young railroad brakeman 
Avho had a metallic tenor voice and good 
lungs. He Avas one of the boarders and con- 
sidered quite a singer in the house. There 
Avas a feeble attempt at the aesthetic in the 
form of a red, bedraggled chenille portiere at 
the door Av ay, bordered with large pink cabbage 
roses. The mantel had a Avorn plush scarf em- 
broidered in a style quite out of date and ugly 
in the extreme. On it stood a large glass 
case of Avax fioAvers, several cheap vases, and 
q, matph safe. Over it hung a crayon portrait 


DAILY bate:' 


1 


of the landlady’s departed husband, and an- 
other of herself adorned the opposite wall, 
both done in staring crayon work from tin 
types of ancient date, heavily and cheaply 
framed. These with a marriage certificate of 
the clasped-hand-and-orange- wreath order, 
framed in gilt, made up the adornments of 
the room. 

Celia sighed as she looked about and took it 
all in once more. It was a dreary place. She 
had been in it but a week. Would she ever 
get used to it ? She did not curl her lip in 
scorn as many other girls would have done 
over that room and its furnishings. Neither 
did she feel that utter distaste that is akin to 
hatred. Instead was a kind of pity in her 
heart for it all, and for the poor lonely crea- 
tures who had no other place to call home. 
AVhere there is such pity, there is sometimes 
love not far away. She even rose, went to 
the doorway and looped the loose, discouraged 
folds of the chenille curtain in more graceful 
fashion. Somehow her fingers could not help 
doing so much toward making that room dif- 
ferent. 

Then she sighed and went to the window 
again. She could see the belated postman 
now across the street. She watched him as 
he flitted back and forth, ringing this bell and 


8 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


that, and searching in the great leather bag for 
papers or packages. His breath showed white 
against the dark greyish -blue of the misty 
evening air. His grey uniform seemed to be 
a part of the mist. The yellow glare of the 
street-lamp touched the gilt buttons and made 
a bright spot of the letters on his cap as he 
paused a moment to study an address before 
coming to their door. 

Celia opened the door before he had time 
to ring and took the letters from his hand. 
There were not many. The boarders in that 
house had not many correspondents. She 
stepped into the parlor once more, and turned 
up the gas now for a moment to see if there 
were any for herself. Strange to say, there 
were two, rather thin and unpromising it is 
true, but they gave a little touch of the unus- 
ual to the dull day. She noticed that one 
bore a familiar postmark and was in her aunt’s 
handwriting. The other held the city mark 
and seemed to be from some firm of lawyers. 
She did not feel much curiosity concerning it. 
It Avas probably some circular. It did not 
look in the least interesting. She pushed 
them both quickly into her pocket as the front 
door opened letting in several noisy boarders. 
She did not Avish to read her letters in public. 
They Avould keep till after supper. The bell 


A DAILY RATE.^ 


9 


was already ringing. It would not be worth 
while to go upstairs before she went to the 
dining-room. Experience taught her that the 
supper was at its very worst the minute after 
the bell rang. If one waited one must take the 
consequences, and ‘Hhe consequences” were 
not desirable. The meals in that house were 
not too tempting at any time. I^ot that she 
cared much for her supper, she was too weary, 
but one must eat to live, and so she went to 
the dining-room. 

Out there the gas was turned to its highest. 
The coarse tablecloth was none of the clean- 
est. In fact, it reminded one of former break- 
fasts and dinners. The thick white dishes bore 
marks of hard usage. They were nicked and 
cracked. There were plates of heavy, sour- 
looking bread at either end of the table. The 
butter looked mussy and uninviting. The in- 
evitable, scanty supply of prunes stood before 
the plate of the young German clerk, who was 
already in his chair helping himself to a liberal 
dish. The German clerk was fond of prunes, 
and always got to the table before any one 
else. Some of the others good-naturedly called 
him selfish, and frequently passed meaning re- 
inarks veiled in thin jokes concerning this habit 
of his ; but if he understood he kept the matter 
to himself, and was apparently not thin-skinned. 


10 


A DAILY BATE. 


There was a stew for dinner that night. 
Celia dreaded stews since the night of her ar- 
rival when she had found a long curly hair on 
her plate in the gravy. There were such pos- 
sibilities of utility in a stew. It was brought 
on in little thick white dishes, doled out in 
exact portions. There were great green fat 
pickles, suggesting copper in their pickling, 
and there was a plate of cheese and another 
of crackers. A girl brought each one a small 
spoonful of canned corn, but it was cold and 
scarcely cooked at all, and the kernels were 
large and whole. Celia having tasted it, pushed 
her dish back and did not touch it again. On 
the side table was a row of plates each con- 
taining a slim, thin piece of pale-crusted pie, its 
interior being dark and of an undefined char- 
acter. Celia tried to eat. The dishes were 
not all clean. Her spoon had a sticky handle 
and so had her fork. The silver was all worn 
off the blade of her knife, and she could not 
help thinking that perhaps it was done by 
being constantly used to convey food to the 
mouth of the brakeman with the tenor voice. 

One by one the boarders drifted in. It was 
surprising how quickly they gathered after that 
bell rang. They knew what they had to de- 
pend upon in the way of bread and butter, 
and it was first come first served. Little Miss 


A DAILY RATE.' 


11 


Burns sat across the table from Celia. She 
was thin and nervous and laughed a good deal 
in an excited way, as if everything were un- 
usually funny, and she were in a constant state 
of embarrassing apology. There were tired 
little lines around her eyes, and her mouth 
still wore a baby droop, though she was well 
along in years. Celia noticed that she drank 
only a cup of tea and nibbled a cracker. She 
did not look well. It was plain the dinner 
was no more appetizing to her than to the 
young girl who had so recently come there to 
board. She ought to have some delicate thin 
slices of nicely browned toast and a cup of 
good tea with real cream in it, and a fresh 
egg poached just right, or a tiny cup of good 
strong beef bullion, Celia said to herself. She 
amused herself by thinking how she would like 
to slip out in the kitchen and get them for her, 
only — and she almost smiled at the thought — 
she would hardly find the necessary articles 
with which to make all that out in the Morris 
kitchen. 

l^ext to Miss Burns sat two young girls, 
clerks in a three-cent store. They carried a 
good deal of would-be style, and wore many 
bright rings on their grimy fingers, whose 
nails were never cleaned nor cut apparently — 
except by their teeth. These girls were rather 


12 


A DAILY DATE. 


pretty in a coarse way, and laughed and talked 
a good deal in loud tones with the tenor 
brakeinan, whose name was Bob Yates, and 
with the other young men boarders. These 
young men were respectively a clerk in a de- 
partment store, a student in the University, 
and a young teacher in the public schools. 
Celia noticed that neither the student nor the 
school-teacher ate heartily, and that the young 
dry goods salesman had a hollow cough. 
How nice it would be if they all could have a 
good dinner just for once, soup and roast beef, 
and good bread and vegetables, with a deli- 
cious old-fashioned apple dumpling smoking 
hot, such as her aunt Hannah could make. 
How she would enjoy giving it to them all. 
How she would like to eat some of it herself ! 
She sighed as she pushed back her plate with 
a good half of the stew yet untouched, and 
felt that it was impossible to eat another 
mouthful of that. Then she felt ashamed to 
think she cared so much for mere eating, and 
tried to talk pleasantly to the little old lady 
beside her, who occupied a small dismal room 
on the third floor and seemed to stay in it 
most of the time. Celia had not yet found 
out her occupation nor her standing in society, 
but she noticed that she trembled when she 
tried to cut her meat, and she was shabbily 


DAILY BATE:'> 


13 


clothed in rusty black that looked as if it had 
served its time out several times over. 

Mrs. Morris came into the dining-room when 
the pie was being served. She was large and 
worried-looking, and wore a soiled calico 
wrapper without a collar. Her hair had not 
been combed since morning and some locks 
had escaped in her neck and on her forehead 
and added to her generally dejected appear- 
ance. She sat down heavily and wearily at 
the head of the table, and added her spiritless 
voice to the conversation. She asked them all 
how they enjoyed the parade and declared it 
would have been enough parade for her if she 
could have “ set down for a couple of hours.” 
Then she sighed and drank a cup of tea from 
her saucer, holding the saucer on the palm of 
her hand. 

It all looked hopelessly dreary to Celia. 
And here she expected to spend the home 
part of her life for several years at least, or if 
not here, yet in some place equally destitute 
of anything which constitutes a home. 

Except for her brief conversation with the 
old lady on her right, and a few words to Miss 
Eurns, she had spoken to no one during the 
meal, and as soon as she had excused herself 
from the pie and folded her napkin, she 
slipped upstairs to her room, for the thought 


14 


DAILY RATE!' 


of the two letters in her pocket seemed more 
inviting than the pie. She turned the gas to 
its highest though it did screech, that she 
might see to read her letters, and then she 
drew them forth. Her aunt Hannah’s came 
first. She tore the envelope. Only one sheet 
and not much written thereon. Aunt Hannah 
Avas well, but very busy, for Nettie’s children 
were all down with whooping cough and the 
baby had been quite sick, poor little thing, 
and she had no time to write. Hiram, Net- 
tie’s husband, too, had been ill and laid up for 
a week, so aunt Hannah had been nursing 
night and day. She enclosed a little book- 
mark to remember Celia’s birthday. She 
Avished she could send her something nice, but 
times were hard and Celia kneAV she had no 
money, so she must take it out in love. 

Hiram’s sickness and the doctor’s bills made 
things close for Nettie or she- Avould have re- 
membered the birthday, too, perhaps. Aunt 
Hannah felt that it was hard to have to be a 
burden on Nettie, noAv when the children Avere 
young and she and Hiram needed every cent 
he could earn, but Avhat else could she do ? 
She sent her love to her dear girl, however, 
and wanted her to read the Averse on the little 
ribbon enclosed and perhaps it would do her 
good. She hoped Celia had a nice comfort- 


DAILY BATE:^ 


15 


able “ homey ” place to board and would write 
soon. 

That was all. The white ribbon bookmark 
was of satin and bore these words : 

“ His allowance was a continual allowance 
. . . a daily rate. 2 Kings xxv. 30,” and 

beneath in smaller letters : 

‘ ‘ Charge not thyself with the weight of a year, 

Child of the Master, faithful and dear. 

Choose not the cross for the coming week. 

For that is more than he bids thee seek. 

Bend not thine arms for to-morrow’s load, 

Thou mayest leave that to thy gracious God, 

Daily, only he says to thee, 

‘ Take up thy cross and follow me.’ ” 


CHAPTER IL 


Celia read the words over mechanically. 
She was not thinking so much of what they 
said, as she was of what her aunt had written, 
or rather of what she had not written, and 
what could be read between the lines, by 
means of her knowledge of that aunt and her 
surroundings. In other words Celia Murray 
was doing exactly what the words on the 
white ribbon told her not to do. She was 
charging herself “ with the weight of a year.” 
She had picked up the cross of the coming 
months and was bending under it already. 

Her trouble was aunt Hannah. Oh, if she 
could but do something for her. She knew 
very well that that little sentence about being 
a burden on Hettie meant more than aunt 
Hannah would have her know. She knew 
that aunt Hannah would never feel herself a 
burden on her niece Nettie,. — for whom she 
had slaved half her life, and was still slaving, 
unless something had been said or done to 
make her feel so ; and Celia, who never had 
liked her cousin-in-law, Hiram, at any time, 
for more reasons than mere prejudice, knew 
16 


DAILY BATE:'> 


17 


pretty well who it was that had made good, 
faithful, untiring aunt Hannah feel that she 
was a burden. 

Celia’s eyes flashed, and she caught her 
hands in each other in a quick convulsive 
grasp. “ Oh, if I could but do something to 
get aunt Hannah out of that and have her 
with me ! ” she exclaimed aloud. “ But here 
am I with six dollars and a half a week ; pay- 
ing out four and a quarter for this miserable 
hole they call a home ; my clothes wearing 
out just as fast as they can, and a possibility 
hanging over me that I may not suit and may 
be discharged at any time. How can I ever 
get ahead enough to do anything ! ” 

She sat there thinking over her life and 
aunt Hannah’s. Her own mother and Het- 
tie’s mother had died within a year of each 
other. The}^ were both aunt Hannah’s sis- 
ters. Mr. Murray did not long survive his 
wife, and Celia had gone to live with her 
cousins who were being mothered by aunt 
Hannah, then a young, strong, sweet woman. 
Her uncle, Mr. Harmon, had been a hard 
working, silent man, who had supplied the 
wants of his family as well as he could, but 
that had not always been luxuriously, for he 
had never been a successful man. The chil- 
dren had grown fast and required many 


18 


A DAILY EATE.^’ 


things. There were five of his own and Celia, 
who had shared with the rest, — though never 
really getting her share, because of her readi- 
ness to give up and the others’ readiness to 
take what she gave up. Somehow the Hannon 
children had a streak of selfishness in them, 
and they always seemed willing that aunt 
Hannah and Celia should take a back seat 
whenever any one had to do so, which was 
nearly all the time. Celia never resented this 
for herself, even in her heart ; but for aunt 
Hannah she often and often did so. That 
faithful woman spent the best years of her 
life, doing for her sister’s children as if they 
had been her own, and yet without the honor 
of being their mother, and feeling that the 
home was her own. She had never married, 
she was simply aunt Hannah, an excellent 
housekeeper, and the best substitute for a 
mother one could imagine. As the children 
grew up they brought all their burdens to 
aunt Hannah to bear, and when there were 
more than she could conveniently carry, they 
would broadly hint that it was Celia’s place to 
help her, for Celia was the outsider, the de- 
pendent, the moneyless one. It had fallen to 
her lot to tend the babies till they grew from 
being tended into boys, and then to follow 
after and pick up the things they left in dis- 


DAILY date: 


19 


order in their wake. It was she who altered 
the girls’ dresses to suit the style, and fash- 
ioned dainty hats from odds and ends, turning 
and pressing them over to make them as good 
as new for some special occasion. And then 
when it came her turn, it was she who had to 
stay at home, because she had nothing to 
wear, and no time to make it over, and noth- 
ing left to make over, because she had given 
it all to the others. 

Then had come the day, — not so many 
weeks ago : Celia remembered it as vividly as 
though it had happened but yesterday; she 
had gone over the details so many times they 
were burned upon her brain. And yet, how 
long the time really had been and how many 
changes had come ! The boy came up from 
the office with a scared face to say that some- 
thing had happened to Mr. Harmon, and then 
they had brought him home and the family 
all too soon learned that there was no use in 
trying to resuscitate him, — all hope had been 
over before he was taken from the office. 
Heart failure, they said! And instantly fol- 
lowing upon this had come that other phrase, 
“ financial failure,” and soon the orphans found 
they were penniless. This was not so bad for 
the orphans, for they were fully grown and 
the girls were both married. The three boys 


20 


A DAILY BATEI^ 


all had good positions and could support them- 
selves. But what of aunt Hannah and Celia ? 
Hettie and Hiram had taken aunt Hannah 
into their family, ill-disguising the fact that 
she was asked because of the help she could 
give in bringing up and caring for the chil- 
dren, but Celia had understood from the first 
that there was no place for her. 

She had been given a good education with 
the others, that is, a common school course 
followed by a couple of years in the High 
School. She had her two hands and her 
bright wits and nothing else. A neighbor 
had offered to use her influence with a friend 
of a friend of a partner in a city store, and 
the result was her position. She had learned 
since she came that it was a good one as such 
things went. She had regular hours for meals 
and occasional holidays, and her work was not 
heavy. She felt that she ought to be thank- 
ful. She had accepted it, of course, there was 
nothing else to be done, but she had looked at 
aunt Hannah with a heavy heart and she 
knew aunt Hannah felt it as keenly. They 
had been very close to each other, these two, 
who had been separated from the others, in a 
sense, and had burdens to bear. Perhaps 
their sense of loneliness in the world had made 
them cling the more to each other. Celia 


A DAILY BATE:'> 


21 


would have liked to be able to say ‘‘Aunt 
Hannah, come with me. I can take care of 
you now. You have cared for me all my life, 
now I will give you a home and rest.” Ah ! 
if that could have been! Celia drew her 
breath quickly, and the tears came between 
the closed lids. She knew if she once allowed 
the tears full sway, they would not stay till 
they had swept all before them, and left her 
in no fit state to appear before those dreadful, 
inquisitive boarders, or perhaps even to sell 
ribbons in Dobson and Co.’s on Monday. Ho, 
she must not giv^e way. She would read that 
other letter and take her mind from these 
things, for certain it was that she could do 
nothing more now than she had done, except 
to write aunt Hannah a cheering letter, which 
she could not do unless she grew cheerful her- 
self. 

So she opened the other letter. 

It was from Kawley and Brown, a firm of 
lawyers on Fifth street, desiring to know if 
she was Celia Murra^q daughter of Henry 
Dean Murray of so forth and so on, and if she 
was, would she please either write or call upon 
them at her earliest possible convenience, pro- 
ducing such evidences of her identity as she 
possessed. 

The' girl laughed as she read it over again. 


22 


A DAILY EATEA' 


“ The idea ! ” she said, talking aloud to herself 
again as she had grown into the habit of do- 
ing since she was alone, just to feel as if she 
were talking to some one. “ If they want to 
identify me, let them do so. I’m not asking 
anything of them. If I’m I, prove it ! How 
very funny ! What for, I wonder ? There 
can’t be a fortune, I know, for father didn’t 
have a cent. I’m sure I’ve had that dinged 
into my ears times enough by Nettie, and even 
Uncle Joseph took pains to tell me that occa- 
sionally. Well, it is mysterious.” 

She .got up and began to walk about the 
room singing to herself the old nursery rhyme : 

“ ‘ If it be me, as I suppose it be, 

I’ve a little dog at home and he’ll know me ; 

If it be /, he’ll wag his little tail, 

And if it be not I, he’ll bark, and he’ll wail.’ 

Dear me ! ” said Celia, “ I’m worse olf than 
the poor old woman who fell asleep on the 
king’s highway. I haven’t even a little dog 
at home who’ll know me.” She sighed and 
sat down, picking up the white ribbon that 
had fallen to the floor. Then she read it over 
again carefully. 

“ How like aunt Hannah that sounds ! ” she 
said to herself, as she read the poem slowly 
over, “‘Child of the Master, faithful and 


A DAILY RATE.'^ 


23 


dear.’ I can hear aunt Hannah saying that 
to me. She was always one to hunt out beau- 
tiful things and say them to me as if they had 
been written all for my poor self. If aunt 
Hannah had ever had time, I believe she would 
have been a poet. She has it in her. How 
entirely I have been doing just exactly what 
this poem says I must not do : choosing my 
cross for the coming week. Yes, and bending 
my arm for to-morrow’s load. I have been 
thinking what a dreary Sunday I should have, 
and wondering how I could endure it all day 
long in this ugly, cold room. And I won’t 
stay down in that mean parlor and listen to 
their horrible singing. It wouldn’t be right 
anyway, for they have not the slightest idea 
of Sabbath keeping. Last Sunday was one 
hurrah all day long. I wonder what that 
verse at the top is — ‘ His allowance was a con- 
tinual allowance.’ I declare I don’t remem- 
ber to have ever read it before. But trust 
aunt Hannah to ferret out the unusual verses. 
I must look it up. Second Kings : who was it 
about, anyway ? The twenty-fifth chapter. 
Oh ! here it is ! ” She read ; 

“ ‘And it came to pass in the seven and thir- 
tieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king 
of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the seven 
and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-me- 


24 


A DAILY rate:' 


rodach king of Babylon in the year. that he be- 
gan to reign did lift up the head of Jehoiachin 
king of Judah out of prison ; 

And he spake kindly to him, and set his 
throne above the throne of the kings that were 
with him in Babylon ; 

And changed his prison garments : and he 
did eat bread continually before him all the 
days of his life. 

And his allowance was a continual allow- 
ance given him of the king, a daily rate for 
every day, all the days of his life.’ ” 

Celia paused and read the verses over again. 

She began to see why her aunt had sent it 
to her, and more than that why her heavenly 
Father had sent it to her. It was the same 
thought that was in the bit of a poem. God 
was taking care of her. He was a king and 
he was able to lift her head up out of prison, 
if this was a prison, and set her even on a 
throne, and change her prison garments, and 
more than that give her an allowance of grace 
to meet all the daily needs of her life. A con- 
tinual allowance : she need never worry lest it 
should give out. It was “ all the days of her 
life.” And aunt Hannah was his also. He 
would care for her in the same way. There 
was nothing to be done but to trust and do 
what he gave her to do. Perhaps it was un- 
usually hard for her to do that. She had al- 


A DAILY rate:' 


25 


Avays been so accustomed to looking ahead and 
bearing burdens for others and planning for 
them. She recognized her fault and resolved 
to think more about it. Meantime, obviously 
the next duty for her to perform, and one by 
no means a cross, was for her to write a long 
cheery letter to aunt Hannah, who she could 
easily see was homesick for her already, though 
it Avas but a Aveek since they had been sep- 
arated. She gathered together her writing 
materials, drew her chair a little nearer the 
poor light, put on her heavy outdoor coat, for 
the room was chilly, though it Avas only the 
latter part of October, and began to Avrite ; 
thinking meanwhile that she could perhaps 
make a pleasant Sabbath afternoon for herself 
out of the study of Jehoiachin, Avho Avas so 
much a stranger to her that she had hardly re- 
membered there was such a person spoken of 
in the Bible. 

The letter she Avrote Avas long and cheerful. 
It abounded in pen pictures of the places and 
things she had seen, and it contained descrip- 
tions in detail of the different boarders. She 
tried not to tell the disagreeable things, for 
she kneAv aunt Hannah Avould be quick to un- 
derstand hoAv hard it all Avas for her to bear, 
and she Avould not lay a feather’s burden upon 
those dear hard-Avorked shoulders. So she de- 


26 


DAILY BATE. 


tailed merry conversations, and made light of 
the poor fare, saying she had a very good and 
a very cheap place they all told her and she 
guessed they were right. 

She also drew upon her imagination and de- 
scribed the dear little home she was going to 
make for aunt Hannah to come and rest in and 
spend her later years, and she told her she was 
going to begin right away to save up for it. 
She made it all so real that the tears came to 
her eyes for very longing for it, and one 
dropped down on the paper and blotted a word. 
She hastily wiped it out, and then took a fresh 
page, for aunt Hannah’s eyes were keen. She 
would be quick to know what made that blot. 
She paused a minute with her pen in air ere 
she closed the letter. Should she, or should 
she not tell aunt Hannah of that letter from 
the lawyers ? Ho, she would not until she saw 
whether it came to anything, and if so, what. 
It might only worry her aunt. There were 
worries enough at Hiram’s without her putting 
any more in the way. So she finished her let- 
ter, sealed and addressed it, and then ran down 
to put it in the box. 

As she returned from her errand into the 
misty outdoor world, and closed the door be- 
hind her shivering, glad she did not have to 
go out any more, she met the tall, lanky cook 


A DAILY BATEI’ 


27 


in untidy work dress and unkempt hair. Celia 
noticed instantly that it was curly hair and 
black, like the one she found in the stew the 
night she came. She was passing on upstairs 
but the cook put out her hand and stopped 
her. 

“ Say,” she said in familiar tones, “ I wish 
you’d jes’ step into Mis’ Morris’ room and stay 
a spell. She’s ben took dreadful sick this 
evenin’, and I’ve ben with her off an’ on most 
all the time, an’ I’ve got pies yet to bake fer 
to-morrow, an’ I can’t spend no more time up 
there now. She ought to have some one, an’ 
the rest seems all to be gone out ’cept that ol’ 
lady up there, an’ she’s gone to bed by this time, 
I reckon.” 

Celia could do nothing but consent to go, of 
course, though the task looked anything but a 
pleasant one. Mrs. Morris had never struck 
her pleasantly. She enquired as to the sick- 
ness. The woman didn’t exactly know what 
Avas the matter. 'No, there had not been any 
physician sent for. “ There Avan’t no one to 
go in the first place, and, secondly, doctors is 
expensive things, take ’em anyway you will, 
medicine and all. Mrs. Morris can’t afford no 
doctors. She’s most killed Avith debt noAV.” 

Celia turned on the stairs, and folloAved the 
Avoman’s direction to find Mrs. Morris’ room. 


28 


DAILY RATEA^ 


Ov^er in her mind came those vyords she had 
read a little while ago. 

“Daily, only, he says to thee, 

^ Take up thy cross and follow me.’ ” 

She smiled, and thought how soon the cross 
had come to her after she had laid down the 
wrong one of a week ahead, and tapped softly 
on Mrs. Morris’ door, lifting up her heart in a 
prayer that she might be shown how to do or 
say the right thing if action were required of 
her. Then she heard a strained voice, as of 
one in pain, call ‘‘ Come in,” and she opened 
the door. 


CHAPTEE III. 


Mrs. Morris lay on her unmade bed, still 
in the soiled wrapper. Her expansive face 
was drawn in agony and she looked white and 
sick. She seemed surprised to see Celia, and 
supposed she had come to prefer a request for 
another towel, perhaps, or to make some com- 
plaint. 

“ You’ll have to ask Maggie,” she said with- 
out waiting to hear what the girl had to say. 
“ I can’t talk now, I’m suffering so. It’s just 
terrible. I never was so sick in me life.” 

‘‘ But I’ve come to see if I can’t help you,” 
explained Celia. “ Maggie told me you were 
sick. Tell me what is the matter. Perhaps I 
can do something for you. I know about 
sickness and nursing.” 

“ Oh, such awful pain ! ” said the woman, 
writhing in agony, “ I suppose it’s something 
I’ve et. Though I never et a thing, all day 
long, but a little piece of pie at dinner to-night 
and me tea. Me nerves is all used up witJi 
worrying anyway, and me stomach won’t 
stand anything any more.” 

Celia asked a few practical questions, and 

29 


30 


A DAILY DATE, 


then told her she would return in a minute. 
She found her way in haste to the kitchen, 
though she had never before penetrated to 
that realm of darkness — and dirt. She or- 
dered Maggie peremptorily to bring her a 
large quantity of very hot water as soon as 
she could, and send somebody for a doctor. 
Then she went up to her own room and hastily 
gathered a bottle or two from her small store 
of medicines and a piece of an old blanket she 
had brought from home. She hesitated a mo- 
ment. She ought to have another flannel. 
The woman was too sick to find anything, 
and she had said she did not know where 
there were any old flannels. It was necessary. 
She must take up this cross to save that poor 
woman from her suffering and perhaps save 
her life, for she was evidently very sick in- 
deed. She waited no longer, but quickly took 
out her own clean flannel petticoat. It was 
nothing very fine, and was somewhat old, but 
it was a sacrifice to think of using any of her 
personal clothing down there in that dirty 
room, and for that woman who did not seem 
to be scrupulously clean herself. However, 
there was no help for it, and she hurried back 
as fast as she could. She gave the poor woman 
a little medicine which she thought might help 
her, and she knew could do no harm till the 


A DAILY RATE:^ 


31 


doctor could get there, and then plunging the 
cherished blanket into the hot water, she 
wrung it as dry as she could and quickly ap- 
plied it to the seat of pain, covering .it with 
the flannel skirt. She knew there was noth- 
ing like hot applications to relieve severe pain. 
She saw by the look of relief that passed over 
the sick woman’s face that the pain had re- 
laxed to some extent. After a moment, Mrs. 
Morris said : 

“ I don’t know as you’d a needed to send 
for a doctor, this might have helped me with- 
out him. I can’t bear to think of his bill. 
Bills ’ll be the death of me yet, I’m afraid.” 

But a spasm of pain stopped her speech, 
and Celia hastened to repeat the applications. 

It was some time before the doctor arrived. 
The girl had to work fast and hard. It was 
evident when he came that he thought the 
patient a very sick woman. Mrs. Morris re- 
alized this, too. After the doctor was gone 
and Celia was left alone with her, she asked 
her if she supposed the doctor thought she 
was going to die. 

“ Though I ain’t got much to live for, the 
land knows — nor to die for either for the mat- 
ter of that.” 

“ Oh you forget ! ” said Celia, reverently, 
aghast that one should speak in that tone of 


32 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


dying, “There is Jesus! Don’t you know 
him ? ” 

The woman looked at her as if she had 
spoken the name of some heathen deity, and 
then turned her head wearily. 

“ IS'o,” she said, “ I don’t suppose I am a 
Christian. I never had any time. When I 
was a girl there was always plenty of fun, and 
I never thought about it, and after I got mar- 
ried there wasn’t time. I did tell the minister 
I would think about joining church the time of 
my daughter’s funeral, but I never did. I 
kind of wish I had now. One never is ready 
to die, I s’pose. But then living isn’t easy 
either, the land knows.” 

A grey ashen look overspread her face. 
Celia wondered if perhaps she might not be 
dying even now. She shuddered. It seemed 
so terrible for any one to die in that way. 
She had never been with a very sick person 
near to death, and she did not know the signs 
well enough to judge how much danger there 
might be of it. She felt however that she 
must say something. The woman must have 
some thread of hope, if she should be really 
dying. She c»me close to her and took her 
hand tenderly. 

“ Dear Mrs. Morris 1 Don’t talk that way. 
Dying isn’t hard, I’m sure, if you have Jesus, 


A DAILY bate: 


33 


and he’s always near and ready, if you will 
only take him now. I know he helps one to 
die, for I can remember my own dear mother, 
though I was but a little girl. She had a beau- 
tiful look on her face, when she bade me good- 
bye, and told me she was going to be with 
Jesus, and that I must always be a good girl 
and get ready to come to her. She looked 
very happy about it.” 

Mrs. Morris opened her eyes and gave her a 
searching look. Then she said in a voice half- 
way between a groan and a frightened shout : 

“Why do you talk like that? You don’t 
think I am dying, do you ? Tell me, quick ! 
Did the doctor say I was going to die ? Why 
did he go away if that was so ? Send for him 
quick ! ” 

Then the inexperienced young girl realized 
that she had made a mistake and been too 
much in earnest. There was danger that the 
woman might make herself much worse by 
such excitement. She must calm her. To 
talk to her thus would do no good. She must 
wait until a suitable season. 

“]^o, Mrs. Morris,” she said, rising and speak- 
ing calmly, ‘‘ he did not say so, jwid I do not be- 
lieve you are going to die. You must not get 
so excited, or you will make yourself worse. 
Here, take your medicine now, for it is time. 


34 


“>4 DAILY bate:' 


I did not mean you to think I thought you 
were dying, and I’m sorry I spoke about my 
mother’s death, it was very foolish of me. 
Please forget it now. I only wanted to tell 
you how Jesus was standing near ready to be 
a comfort to you always, whether you lived 
or died. But now you ought to go to sleep. 
Would you like me to sing to you? Is the 
pain a little easier ? The doctor said you must 
lie very quiet. Can I get you anything ? ” 

By degrees she calmed the woman again, 
and then sat down to watch and give her the 
medicine. There seemed to be no one whose 
business it was to relieve Celia. Maggie put 
her head in the door about midnight to say 
she was going to bed now and had left a fire, 
if any more hot Avater was needed. Celia sat 
there gradually taking in the fact that she was 
left to sit up all night with this sick woman, 
an utter stranger to her. It Avas scarcely what 
she Avould choose as a pleasant task. But she 
recognized it as the cross the Master had laid 
upon her Avith his own hand, and there Avas 
a sense of SAveetness in performing this duty 
which she Avould not have had otherwise. It 
occurred to her that it Avas Avell this Avas Sat- 
urday night instead of some other, for she 
could ill afford to sit up and lose all her sleep 
Avhen she had to stand at the counter all the 


A DAILY BATE.^' 


35 


next day. She smiled to herself in the dim 
light and thought this must be part of the 
Master’s plan, to fix it so that she could do 
this duty and her others also. This was all 
he asked her to do, just what she had strength 
for. He gave her the daily allowance of that. 
But what if she should have to sit up to-mor- 
row night ? Daily, only, he says to thee,” 
and ‘‘ Thou mayest leave that to thy gracious 
Lord,” came the answering words, for now 
she knew the little poem by heart. She went 
upstairs, hastily changed her dress for a loose 
wrapper, and secured her Bible and one or 
two articles which she thought might be use- 
ful in caring for the sick woman. When she 
came down again Mrs. Morris seemed to be 
asleep, and Celia settled herself by the dim 
light with her Bible. She felt that she needed 
some help and strength. She had not read 
long when Mrs. Morris said in a low voice, 
‘‘ Is that the Bible you’ve got ? Bead a little 
piece to me.” 

Celia hardly knew where to turn for the 
right words just now, but her Bible opened 
easily of itself to the twenty-third psalm and 
she read the words in a low, musical voice, 
praying the while that they might be sent of 
the Spirit to reach the sick woman’s heart. 
When she stopped reading Mrs. Morris seemed 


36 


A DAILY RATE. 


to be asleep again, and Celia settled herself in 
the least uncomfortable chair in the room, 
and began to think. 

But she had not long for this occupation, 
for this was to be a night of action. The ter- 
rible pain which for a time had been held by 
some powerful opiate the doctor had given 
when he first came in, returned in full force, 
and the patient soon was writhing in mortal 
agony once more. Celia was roused from her 
thoughts. She called Maggie and sent for hot 
water and the doctor again, and it was not 
until morning was beginning to stain the sky 
with crimson that she sat down to breathe 
and realize that Mrs. Morris was still alive. 
It seemed almost a miracle that she was, for 
the doctor had said when he arrived that there 
was doubt whether he could save her. 

Early in the morning Miss Burns came in to 
relieve her watch, and Celia snatched a little 
sleep, but she found on awaking that she was 
needed again. Mrs. Morris had asked for her. 
She went down to the breakfast table and 
found, what she had not supposed possible, 
that the breakfast was so much worse than 
former breakfasts, since the mistress was sick, 
that it was hardly possible to eat at all. It 
seemed that Mrs. Morris had made some differ- 
ence in things, though Celia had thought the 


A DAILY RATE,^' 


37 


night before that they could not very well be 
much worse. She had yet to find that there 
were many grades below even this in boarding- 
houses. 

The Sabbath was not spent in studying Je- 
hoiachin. It was full, but not with attending 
church services. She did not stay in her cold 
little room. She would have been glad to have 
been allowed to flee to that refuge. Instead, 
she made her headquarters in Mrs. Morris^ 
room and from there she began by degj’ees to 
order things about her, for Mrs. Morris seemed 
to have placed all her dependence upon her. 
It was she who answered the questions of 
Maggie about this thing and that, and who 
kept the entire list of boarders from coming 
in to talk to Mrs. Morris and commiserate her. 
She also cleared up the room and gave a touch 
of something like decent care to the sick 
woman and her surroundings. Once or twice 
the patient opened her eyes, looked around, 
seemed to see the subtle difference, and then 
closed them again. Celia could not tell 
whether it pleased her or whether she was 
indifferent. But it was not in Celia’s nature 
to stay in a room and not make those little 
changes of picking up a shoe and straighten- 
ing a quilt and hanging clothing out of sight. 
She did it as a matter of course. 


38 


A DAILY BATE.” 


Occasionally, when she had time to do so, 
she wondered what aunt Hannah would think 
if she could see her now, and she smiled to 
think that this was just what she seemed to 
have had to do all her life, — give up to help 
other people. Then she thought perhaps it 
was the most blessed thing that could happen 
to her. 

Occasionally there would come to her a re- 
membrance of that letter from the lawyers, 
and she would wonder what it meant, and how 
she could possibly go to work to find out. 

Sunday evening she sat with her landlady 
for a couple of hours. The pain seemed to be 
a little easier, though she had spent an in- 
tensely trying day. She seemed worried and 
inclined to talk. Celia tried to soothe her 
and persuade her to get calm for sleeping, but 
it was of no use. 

“How can I sleep,” answered the woman 
impatiently, “ with so many things to fret 
about ? Here am I on me back for the land 
knows how long, and the doctor wanting me 
to go to the hospital. How can I go to the 
hospital ? What will become of me house, and 
me business if I up and off that way ? And 
then when I get well, if I ever do, what’s to 
become of me ? Me house would be empty, 
or me goods sold for grocery debts and other 


DAILY rate:'' 


39 


tilings, and I should starve. I might as well 
take the chances of dying outright now as that. 
I know I’d die in the hospital anyway, fretting 
about things. That Maggie never could carry 
on things, even if I was only to be gone two 
days. She never remembers to salt anything. 
Those two girls from, that three-cent store 
have been complaining about the soup to-day 
already. They say it was just like dish water. 
And that German fellow came and told me to- 
night, with me lying sick here, that he’d have 
to leave if things didn’t improve. He said I 
ought to get better help ! Think of it ! How 
am I going about to get help and me on me 
back not able to stir ? I don’t much care if he 
does leave, he always ate more than all the 
rest of them put together. But land, if I 
should get well right away and keep on, I 
don’t see where I’m coming to. There’s bills 
everywhere, milk and meat and groceries and 
dry goods. I don’t know how I’m ever to pay 
’em. It’ll be just go on and pay a little, and get 
deeper into debt, and pay a little of that and 
make more debt, till I come to the end some- 
time, and I s’pose it might as well be now as 
any time.” 

Poor Celia! She had no words ready for 
such trouble as this. Debt had always been 
to her an awful thing, a great sin, never to be 


40 


A DAILY EATE:^ 


committed. She never realized that there 
were people to whom to be in debt seemed 
the normal way of living from day to day. 
She tried to think of something comforting to 
say, for how could a woman get well Avith 
such a weight as this on her mind ? It Avould 
do no good to quote verses of Scripture about 
taking no thought for the morrow, nor to 
quote that sweet poem of hers about not bear- 
ing next week’s crosses. The poor Avoman 
would not understand. She had not so lived 
in the past as to know hoAV to claim the prom- 
ise of being cared for. She Avould scarcely 
understand if Celia tried to tell her that if she 
would but cast her care noAV on Jesus he Avould 
help her in some way at once. This was what 
she longed to say, but her experience of the 
night before led her to fear saying anything 
which might excite the poor nervous Avoman. 

“ How much money do you need to pay all 
your debts and set you straight again ? ” she 
asked, thinking a little opportunity to go over 
her troubles might quiet her. 

“ Oh, I don’t knoAV,” wailed the poor 
woman. “If I just had a thousand dollars, 
I’d sell out me business and go someAvhere 
and get out of it. Things seem to be getting 
Avorse and Avorse.” She began to cry feebly, 
and Celia Avas at her wit’s end. Everything 


‘M DAILY RATE.'^ 


41 


she said seemed to make matters worse. Sud- 
denly she began to sing in a low soft voice, 

“ Jesus, Saviour, pilot me, 

Over life’s tempestuous sea.” 

Her voice was sweet and pure, and the 
woman paused to listen while Celia sang on 
until she fell asleep. 


CHAPTER lY. 


Celia discovered that the firm of lawyers 
who had written her, had their office in a 
building not many blocks from Dobson and 
Co.’s store. She felt anxious to find out what 
they wanted of her, and so the next morning 
she obtained permission for a few minutes’ 
extra time at the lunch hour and hastened 
there. 

She reached the number at last, and searched 
the dirty sign board for the names “ Rawley 
and Brown.” There it was almost the last 
one on the list, “ Fourth floor, back.” Sho 
climbed up the four flights of stairs, for the 
elevator was out of order and arrived panting 
before the dingy office. When she entered 
the room, two elderly men sat at desks on 
which were piled many papers, and each was 
talking with a client who sat near his desk. 
They did not cease their talking with these 
men until Celia had stood for some moments 
by the door. Then the elder of the two 
looked over his glasses at her, and she ven- 
tured to say she was Miss Murray come in re- 
sponse to their letter. She was given a chair 
and asked to wait until Mr. Rawley was at 
42 


DAILY BATE.’^ 


43 


leisure, and in the course of a few minutes 
both the clients had withdrawn, and she was 
left alone with the two lawyers. Over in the 
corner behind a screen, she could hear the 
click of a typewriter and see the top of a frizzy 
head which she knew must belong to the 
operator, probably the one who had written 
the letter to her. 

Mr. Rawley at last turned to her and began 
a list of questions. Celia answered everything 
she could, wondering when this mystery 
would be explained. As soon as she had fin- 
ished telling Mr. Rawley the names of her dif- 
ferent living relatives, he cleared his throat 
and looked at her sharply and yet thought- 
fully: 

“ Miss Murray,” said he, as if about to ask 
something very important, “ did you ever hear 
your father speak of having a great uncle ? ” 

Celia paused to think a moment. She had 
been but ten years old when her father died. 
She could remember some conversations be- 
tween her father and mother about relatives 
whom she had never seen. She searched her 
mind. 

“ I’m not sure about the ‘ great ’ part of it. 
He might have been a great uncle, but I know 
there was one father called uncle Abner. He 
must have died long ago. He was a very old 


44 


A DAILY BATE.^' 


man then. I can remember father saying 
laughingly to mother one day that he would 
never see anybody prettier than she was, not 
if he lived to be as old as uncle Abner.” 

“ A-ahem ! ” said Mr. Kawley, uncrossing his 
feet and recrossing them again and putting 
his two thumbs together as he looked at them 
seriously under his bushy eyebrows. “ Yes. 
Ah ! Well, and did that uncle have any — ah 
— heirs ? ” 

Celia wanted to laugh. She had already 
begun to plan how she would make aunt 
Hannah laugh by a letter she would write de- 
scribing this interview with the lawyers, but 
she kept her face straight and answered 
steadily. 

“ I do not know.” 

“Well, I must say, my dear young lady,” 
remarked Mr. Kawley, after a somewhat pro- 
longed pause, “ that your evidence is some- 
what — that is to say, — inadequate. You could 
hardly expect us, with so little to go upon — 
that is to say, without more investigation, you 
could hardly expect us ” 

“ You forget, sir,” said Celia, really laugh- 
ing now, “ that I have not the slightest idea 
what all this is about. I expect nothing. I 
came here to be informed.” 

The old lawyer gave her another searching 


A DAILY RATE.''> 


45 


look and then seemed to conclude that she was 
honest. 

“ Well, young lady, I think I may safely 
tell you this much. There was property of 
Mr. Abner Murray’s, which naturally de- 
scended to his only son. This son had been 
in India for years. He did not return at his 
father’s death, and in fact his whereabouts was 
not definitely known, until a very short time 
ago, when positive information of his death 
without heirs was received. The property 
would then revert to Mr. Abner Murray’s next 
of kin, and his heirs. Mr. Abner Murray had 
a brother, who is supposedly your father’s 
father. If this should prove to be the case, 
through his death and your father’s, his only 
heir, you being the only living child, of your 
father, the property would naturally fall to 
you. Do you follow me closely ? ” 

Celia looked at Mr. Eawley respectfully 
now and very gravely. The matter had taken 
on a different aspect. It was a complete sur- 
prise. She had not even in her wildest dreams 
allowed herself to hope for any such thing. 
Fortunes only fell to girls in books, not to 
flesh-and-blood, hard working, everyday girls. 

She looked at the lawyer in silence a minute 
and then she smiled gravely and said : 

“That would be very nice if it’s true. I 


46 


A DAILY rate:' 


wish it might be. And now I suppose you are 
done with me for the present, until you have 
investigated the truth of my statements.” 

Mr. Hawley seemed surprised that she took 
it so coolly and asked no more questions. 
She rose as if to go. The truth was she had 
caught a glimpse of the clock and she saw 
that she had barely time to reach her counter 
before the limit of her nooning would be over, 
and she had had no lunch. Her position might 
be forfeited if she exceeded her time. That 
was worth to her at present all the mythical 
fortunes that the future might hold for her. 
So, without more ado, she hurried away, and, 
not even stopping for a single bite to eat, laid 
aside her wraps and was in her place behind 
the counter when the minute hand pointed 
just one minute after the time allotted her. 

It was a very busy afternoon. She had not 
much time to think. Everybody seemed to 
want ribbons. “ Perhaps I shall be in a posi- 
tion to buy some of these yards myself, instead 
of measuring them off for other people, some 
time, if that old Mr. Eawley ever finds out 
whether /am /,” she thought to herself as she 
skillfully clipped off two yards of blue satin 
and three yards of pink taffeta. 

“ Property ! ” he had said. What did prop- 
erty mean ? Had great uncle Abner leH an 


DAILY BATEA^ 


47 


old bouse standing somewhere, which would 
be of no earthly use to anybody unless sold, 
and bring nothing then ? Or perhaps it was 
some musty old library. She had no faith 
that there was much money. Such things did 
not run in their family. It would turn out to 
be very little. But oh, what if it should be 
something worth while ? What, for in- 
stance, if it should be a thousand dollars ! 
What might she not do ? Why, a thousand 
.dollars would enable her to do some of the 
nice things she longed so to do. She could 
bring aunt Hannah here to the city, and set 
up a tiny home with her in it somewhere. 
With that much money to start on, they could 
surely make their living, she in the store and 
aunt Hannah at home sewing. It flashed 
across her mind that that was just the sum 
Mrs. Morris had wished for. She had said if 
she only had a thousand dollars she could pay 
her debts and have enough left to start on 
and get out of her uncomfortable life. 

How nice it would be if she, Celia, could 
have money enough to say, “ I have the thou- 
sand dollars, Mrs. Morris, and I will give it to 
you. You may pay those people and go away 
to some more quiet, restful life. Then how 
delightful it would be to take that poor miser- 
able boarding-house and make it over. Make 


48 


DAILY bate:' 


the boarders’ lives cheerful and pleasant, give 
them healthful food and clean, inviting rooms 
to live in ! What a work that would be for a 
lifetime ! If she ever did get rich, she be- 
lie v^ed she would do just that thing. Hunt up 
the most wretched boarding-house she could 
find and takedt, boarders and all, and make it 
over. She believed she could do it with aunt 
Hannah’s help. Aunt Hannah could cook and 
plan, and she could execute and beautify. 
The thought pleased her so well that she car- 
ried it out into details, during the long walk 
back to her boarding-house that night. She 
even went so far as to think out what she 
would give them for dinner the first night, 
and how the dining-room should appear — and 
how their faces would look when they saw it 
all. What fun it would be! Miss Burns 
should have something every night that would 
tempt her appetite, and the poor old lady in 
the third story should be given the very ten- 
derest cut in the whole steak, so she need 
not tremble so when she cut it. And there 
was that poor young school-teacher, he needed 
rich creamy milk. She had heard him decline 
the muddy coffee several times and once he 
asked if he might have a glass of milk, and 
Maggie had told him they were all out of milk. 

She debated whether she would retain her 


A DAILY RATE.'>^ 


49 


position in the store and decided that she 
would for a time, because that would give her 
a chance to carry out some plans without let- 
ting the boarders know who was at the bot- 
tom of it all. Things should not be changed 
much at first, except that everything should 
be made entirely clean and wholesome. Then 
gradually they would begin to beautify. Per- 
haps the others would help in it. Perhaps she 
could lure the young man from the dry goods 
store into spending an evening at home and 
helping her. She had a suspicion that he 
spent his evenings out, and remained late in 
places which did him no good, to say the least. 
It would do no harm for her to try to get ac- 
quainted with him and help him, even if she 
never got a fortune to enable her to raise her 
neighbors into better things. She would be- 
gin the reformation of young Mr. Knowles 
that very evening, if there came an opportu- 
nity. With these thoughts and plans in mind 
she completed her long walk in much shorter 
time than usual and with a lighter heart. It 
did her good to have an interest in life beyond 
the mere duties of the hour. 

She found Mrs. Morris in much the same 
state of depression as on the day before. The 
doctor had urged again that she go to the hos- 
pital for regular course of treatment. She 


50 


A DAILY BATE:'^ 


was as determined as ever that she would not, 
or rather coidd not do it. She wanted Celia 
to come and sit with her. She had taken a 
liking to her new boarder, and she did not hesi- 
tate to say so, and to declare that the ( 
were an unfeeling set who bothered he 
didn’t care if she was sick. Celia tried^"^o 
cheer her up. She gave her a flower which 
one of the other workers in the store had given 
her, and told her she would come up after din- 
ner was over. Then she went down to the 
table, and found Mr. Knowles seated before 
his plate looking cold and coughing. She 
wondered if her opportunity would come. His 
seat was at her left hand. They exchanged 
some remarks about the weather, and Celia 
told him he seemed to have a bad cold. He 
told her that was a chronic state with him, and 
then coughed again as he tried to laugh. She 
entered into his mock gaiety, and told him that 
if his mother were there she would tell him 
not to go out that evening, in such damp 
weather and with that cough. 

. His face grew sober instantly, and he said 
very earnestly : 

“ I suppose she would.” 

“Well, then, I suppose you’ll stay in, won’t 
you ? ” said the girl. “ It isn’t right not to 
take care of yourself. The wind is very raw 


A DAILY RATE. 


51 


to-night. Your cough will be much worse to- 
morrow if you go out in it. You ought to 
stay in for your mother’s sake, you know.” 

It was a bow drawn at a venture. Celia 
s^ a glance at him. He looked up at her 
( dckly, his handsome, gay face sober and al- 
■’ tost startled. 

“ But mother isn’t here,” he said, his voice 
husky. ‘‘ She died a year ago.” 

“ But don’t you think mothers care for their 
sons even after they have gone to heaven ? I 
believe they do. I believe in some way God 
lets them know when they are doing right. 
You ought to take care of yourself just the 
same, even if she is not here, for you know she 
would tell you to do it, now wouldn’t she ? ” 

“ Yes, I know she would,” he answered, and 
then, after a minute’s pause, he added, “ but it 
is so hard to stay in here. There is no place 
to sit and nothing to do all the evening. 
Mother used to have things different.” 

“ It^^^hard,’" said Celia, sympathizingly, and 
this is a dreary place. I’ve thought so myself, 
ever since I came. I wonder if you and I 
couldn’t make things a little pleasanter for us 
all, if we tried.” 

“ How ? I’m sure I never thought I could 
do anything in that line. How would you go 
about it?” 


52 


DAILY BATEA* 


“Well, I’m not just sure,” said Celia, think- 
ing rapidly and bringing forth some of her half 
made plans to select one for this emergency. 
“ But I think we ought to have a good light 
first. The gas is miserable.” 

“You’re right; it is that,” responded Mr. 
Knowles. 

“Didn’t I see a big lamp on the parlor 
table ? ” 

“ Yes, I think there is a lamp there, but it 
smokes like an engine, and it gives a wicked 
flare of a light that stares at you enough to 
put your eyes out.” 

“ Well, I wonder if we couldn’t do something 
to cure that lamp of smoking. I’m somewhat 
a doctor of lamps myself, having served a long 
apprenticeship at them, and I think if you’ll 
help me I’ll try. I have some lovely pink 
crepe paper upstairs that I got to make a shade 
for my room, but I’ll sacrifice that to the store 
if you can get me a new wick. What do you 
say ? Shall we try it ? I’m sure Mrs. Morris 
won’t object, for it will save gas, besides mak- 
ing things pleasanter for the boarders. I have 
a book I think you will enjoy, after the lamp 
is fixed for reading. If you are going to be a 
good boy and stay at home to-night I’ll bring 
it down.” 

The young man entered into the scheme en- 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


53 


thusiasticallj. He was a very young man, not 
more than nineteen, or Celia would not have 
cared or dared to speak to him in this gay, 
half-commanding way. But she had been used 
to boys, and to winning them to do what she 
wished, and she won her way this time surely. 
The young man was only too glad to have 
something to keep him in, and his heart was 
still very tender toward his lost mother. Celia 
saw that he would not be hard to influence. 
She wished she were wise and able to help him. 
Her soul felt with oppression the need of all 
these other souls in this house with her, and 
she wished to be great and mighty to lift- them 
up and help them. How strange it was that 
the way kept opening up before her for daily 
helping of others. She seemed to be the only 
Christian in this house full of people. What 
a weight of responsibility rested upon her if 
that was so. How she ought to pray to be 
guided that she might be wise as a serpent and 
harmless as a dove ; that she might, if possible, 
bring each one of them to a knowledge of Jesus 
Christ. And what was she to do all this ? A 
mere weak girl, who was discouraged and 
homesick, and could not get enough money to- 
gether to keep herself from need, perhaps, nor 
grace enough to keep her own heart from fail- 
ing or her feet from falling. What was she 


54 


A DAILY bate:' 


to think of guiding others ? How could she 
do all this work ? She must shrink back from 
the thought. She could not do it. It was too 
much. Ah ! She might leave all that to her 
gracious Lord. She had forgotten that. All 
he wanted her to do was to take the duty of 
the hour or the minute and do it for him. 
What matter whether there were results that 
showed or not so long as he was obeyed ? 
When she slipped up to her room for that 
pink crepe paper she knelt down and asked 
that it and the book and the lamp and her lit- 
tle effort for the evening might be blessed. 
Then she went down to conquer that lamp. 


CHAPTEE Y. 


“For the land sake! Yes,’’ said Mrs. Mor- 
ris, turning wearily on her pillow, “ do what 
you please with it. I wish it was a good one. 
I’d like to afford a real good one with a silk 
shade with lace on it, but I can’t. There’s 
lots ought to be done here, but there’s no use 
talking about it. I’m clean discouraged any- 
way. I wish I could sell out, bag and bag- 
gage, and go to the poorhouse.” 

“ Oh, Mrs. Morris, don’t talk that way ! ” 
said Celia, brightly. “You’ll get well pretty 
soon. Don’t think about that now. We’!! 
try to keep things in order till you are able 
to see to them yourself. And meantime, I 
believe I can make that lamp work beautifully. 
I’ll come back by and by and report progress. 
How eat that porridge. I know it can’t hurt 
you. The doctor told me it would be good 
for you. I made it myself, and it’s just such 
as aunt Hannah used to make for sick people. 
There’s nothing like twice boiled flour por- 
ridge. Is it seasoned right ? There’s the salt.” 

Then she flitted downstairs to the lamp. 

Young Mr. Knowles was already on hand 

55 


56 


DAILY BATE. 


with the new wick he had purchased at the 
corner grocery, having carefully taken the 
measure of the burner. 

Celia with experienced hand soon had the 
lamp burning brightly. Frank Hartley, the 
University student, had been attracted by the 
unusual light and declared he would bring his 
books down to the parlor for a while. It was 
cold as a barn in his room anyway. He and 
Harry Knowles stood by watching with ad- 
miring eyes, as Celia’s fingers, now washed 
from the oil of the lamp, manipulated the 
pretty rose-colored paper into a shade, and 
when it was done, with a gathering string, 
a smoothing out on the edges and a pucker 
and twist here and there, and then a band 
and bow of the crepe paper, it all had looked 
so simple that they marveled at the beauty 
of the graceful fall of ruffles, like the petals of 
some lovely flower. 

She put the promised book in Harry Knowles’ 
hand, a paper-covered copy of “ In His Steps,” 
and saying she would come down later to see 
what he thought of the story, she slipped away 
to Mrs. Morris’ room. She must get time to 
write to aunt Hannah some time to-night about 
her visit to the lawyers, for aunt Hannah might 
have some evidence which would serve her in 
good stead, but this duty to the sick woman 


DAILY BATEA' 


57 


came first. She turned her head as she left 
the room and saw the two young men settling 
themselves in evident comfort around the 
bright lamp. The school-teacher, George Os- 
born, came in the front door just then, and 
catching the rosy light from the room stepped 
in, looked around surprised, then hung up his 
hat and went in to stand a minute before the 
register to warm his hands. It was a touch 
of cheer he had not expected. Presently he 
went upstairs and brought down a pile of re- 
ports he must make out, and seated himself 
with the other two around that light. 

Celia upstairs was telling Mrs. Morris about 
the lamp, how well it burned, and giving a 
glowing account of the three young men seated 
around it. Mrs. Morris listened astonished. 

“ Well, I’ve told them boys time an’ again 
that they ought to stay at home, but they 
never would before. It must be some sort of 
a spell you’ve worked on them. Of course, 
that teacher he stays up in his room a lot. 
But he’s trying to support his mother and put 
his brother through college, and you can’t ex- 
pect much of him. He’ll just give himself up 
entirely to them and that’ll be the end of his 
life. There’s always some folks in this world 
have to be sacrificed to a few others. It’s the 
way things are. I’m one of those meself, 


58 


A DAILY BATE.^^ 


though the land knows who’s the better for 
me being sacrificed. It does seem as if I had 
had to give up every blessed thing I ever 
tried for in me life. Just set down a while. 
I feel a little easier this evening and I’ve been 
a-doing a powerful lot of worrying all day. 
I haven’t a soul to advise me that knows any- 
thing. You seem to be made out of good 
stuff, and you’ve been real good to me, and I 
just wish you’d tell me what you think I ought 
to do.” 

Celia sat down. She wondered what could 
be coming next. It was strange to have her 
advice asked this way. Coming out into the 
world alone to earn one’s living places a great 
many responsibilities upon one sometimes. 
She felt very incapable of advising. She felt 
she had not wisdom to settle her own life, let 
alone another’s, and one so much older than 
herself, that it would seem as if experience 
ought to have taught her much. But she 
tried to be sympathetic, and told Mrs. Morris 
to tell her all about it, and she would do the 
best she could. In her heart she prayed the 
Father that she might have wisdom to answer 
wisely. 

‘‘ Well, you see it’s this way. I’m just deep 
down in debt. I told you that before. It’s 
been going on worse and worse every year, 


A DAILY RATE:^ 


59 


and every year I’d hope by the next to make 
the two ends meet somehow. But they 
never did. I’ve cut down and cut down. 
And then I got left two or three times by 
boarders going off without pa^ying what they 
owed after I had trusted them a long time. 
There was that Mr. Perry now, he left that 
old rickety organ. It was well enough to 
have an organ for the boarders, but you see I 
couldn’t afford to have one. If I could have, 
I’d have bought a new one, you know. Well, 
things like that have happened time and 
again. Once a woman who recited pieces for 
a living came to the house. She had a lot of 
dirty satin clothes, and afterward she left 
quite suddenly and I never knew she was 
gone till a man came for her trunk. Of 
course I got the trunk for her board. She 
had been here two months and only paid one 
week’s board, kept putting me off and off. 
When I had that trunk sold at auction it 
brought me in just one dollar and sixty-two 
cents. What do you think of that ? And she 
had the second story front alone too; and 
airs^ why she’d have her breakfast sent up 
every morning about ten o’clock. She made 
me think she was a great woman. Well, I 
learned better. But it does seem as though 
I’ve had more trouble with folks. There was 


60 


DAILY UATEy 


the time the woman was here with her little 
girl, and the child took scarlet fever and the 
Board of Health came in and sent everybody 
off, and scared them so ’twas a long time be- 
fore I could get them back. Well, there’s 
been a plenty of other things just like that. 
You don’t wonder, do you, that I’m in debt? 
The worst of it is it’s been getting worse and 
worse. That Maggie just wastes everything 
she lays her hands on, and I don’t know’s I’d 
better myself any if I tried to get somebody 
else. There’s always changes and new things 
to buy. How what would you do? You see 
it’s this way. I’ve got a sister out west that 
lives by herself in a little village. She’s a 
widow amd she’s got enough to live on, and 
she’s written to me to come out and live with 
her, and she thinks I could get a little sewing 
now and then, and I could help her in her 
house. I can’t ask her for money, for I haven’t 
got the face to, having asked her once before. 
Besides, she’s not one to give out and out that 
way, even if she could afford to, which I guess 
she can’t, though she’d be willing and glad to 
give me a home with her. I’m too proud to 
borrow what I know I never could pay, and I 
won’t skip out here as some would and leave 
me debts behind me. I’m honest, whatever 
else I ain’t. How what would you do ? Ho, 


DAILY BATE.'' 


61 


I don’t own this house ; if I did I’d been bank- 
rupt long ago with the repairs it needs, that I 
couldn’t get out of the landlord. But I took 
it for the rest of the year, and the lease don’t 
run out till April, so you see I’m in for that. 
It’s just the same old story. ‘ A little more 
money to buy more land, to plant more corn, 
to feed more hogs, to get more money, to buy 
more land, to feed more hogs.’ Only, I always 
had a little less of everything each time. 
Now Miss Murray, what would you do if it 
was you ? ” 

“ Haven’t you anything at all to pay with ? 
No,” — she hesitated for a word and the one 
she had heard that day came to her — 
“ Haven’t you any property of any sort ? 
Nothing you could sell ? ” 

Celia was always practical. She wanted to 
know where she stood before she gave any 
advice. Mrs. Morris looked at her a moment 
in a dazed way, trying to think if there was 
anything at all. 

‘‘No, not a thing except my husband’s 
watch and this old furniture. I suppose I 
might sell out me business, but nobody would 
buy it and I’d pity ’em, poor things, if they 
did.” 

She talked a long time with the woman, 
trying to find out about boarding-houses and 


62 


DAILY BATE. 


how they were run. Before she was through 
she began to have some inkling of the reason 
why Mrs. Morris had failed in business and 
Avas so deeply in debt. She was only a girl, 
young and without experience, but she felt 
sure she could have avoided some of the mis- 
takes Avhich had been the cause of Mrs. Mor- 
ris’ trouble. Finally, she said in answer to 
the twentieth “ What would you do if you was 
me?” 

“ Mrs. Morris, I don’t quite know till I have 
thought about it. I will think and tell you 
to-morrow, perhaps, or the next day. It seems 
to me though, that I would stop right now and 
not run on and get more deeply in debt. 
That cannot better matters. I think some- 
body might buy your things, and — some Avay 
might be found for you to pay your debts, — 
but, in the first place, you must get Avell, and 
we’ll do the very best we can to get on here 
till you are well enough to know Avhat you 
will do. Now may I read to you just a few 
Avords ? And then you ought to go to sleep. 
Just you rest your mind about all those 
things, and I promise you I will try to think 
of something that will help you.” 

She turned to the little Bible she had brought 
in Avith her and read a feAv verses in the four- 
teenth chapter of John “ Let not your heart be 


A DAILY BATEI^ 


63 


troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in 
me,” 

She was very tired when she reached her 
room that night. The letter she intended to 
write to aunt Hannah was still unwritten. 
The book she had taken from the public li- 
brary to read was lying on her bureau un- 
touched. She had been bearing the burdens 
of other people, and the day had been full of 
excitement and hard work. She threw herself 
on her bed, so nervously tired that she felt 
convulsive sobs rising in her throat. What 
had she done ? She had promised to think up 
some way to help Mrs: Morris. Mrs. Morris 
was nothing to her, why should she take this 
upon herself ? And yet she knew, as she asked 
herself these questions, that she had felt all 
along that God had as truly called her to help 
that poor woman as ever he had called her to 
sell ribbons for Dobson and Co., or to help 
aunt Hannah with the mending. She had not 
wanted to do it, either. It was very unpleas- 
ant work, indeed, in many ways, and had re- 
quired sacrifices of which she had not dreamed 
when she began. There was the pretty lamp- 
shade she was planning to have. She had 
given that up for the general good of the 
house. How, when she got the lamp she in- 
tended to buy at a cheap sale somewhere, she 


64 


A DAILY RATE. 


would have to wait till she could afford more 
paper and a frame for her shade. Well, never 
mind ! She surely was repaid for that act, 
for those young men had enjoyed it. How 
much pleasure a little thing can give ! How 
many things there were about that house 
which might be easily done to make things 
brighter and pleasanter, and how much she 
would enjoy doing them, — if aunt Hannah 
were only here ! How nice it would be if she 
had some money and could buy Mrs. Morris 
out and help the poor thing to get off to 
her relatives, and then get to work and make 
that house cheerful and beautiful and a true 
home for its present inmates. How aunt 
Hannah would enjoy that work too ! It was 
just such work as would fulfill that good 
woman’s highest dreams of a beautiful vo- 
cation in life. 

Suddenly Celia sat bolt upright on the hard 
little bed, and stared at the opposite wall Avith 
a thoughtful, and yet energetic expression on 
her face. 

“ What if it should ! ” she said aloud. 

What if there should be some money, say 
as much as a thousand dollars, and maybe a 
little over, for an allowance lest we might run 
behind. Wouldn’t that be grand ! Oh, you 
dear old uncle Abner, if it proves true, and if 


A DAILY RATE:’> 


65 


you up in heaven can see, I hope you know 
how happy you’ll make several people. I’ll 
do it, I surely will ! And aunt Hannah shall 
come and run the house and be the house- 
keeper, and maybe we can get old Molly, for 
I’m certain we never could do a thing with 
that Maggie, she’s so terribly dirty, and Molly 
would leave anywhere to be with aunt Han- 
nah ! There now, I’m talking just as if I was 
a ‘ millionairess ’ and could spend my millions. 
I ought not to have thought of this, for it will 
turn my head. I shall be so disappointed 
when Mr. Eawley tells me, to-morrow or next 
day, that I’m not myself, or that the property 
is some old hen house and a family cat, that 
I’m afraid I shall not be properly thankful for 
the cat. I wonder if it isn’t just as bad to 
take up the happy crosses for the comin'g year 
as the uncomfortable ones. I wonder how 
that is. I must think about it. Meanwhile, 
aunt Hannah must be written to, for Mr. 
Hawley wanted those marriage certificates she 
has, and somehow I feel quite happy.” She 
sprang from the bed and jumped around her 
room in such a lively fashion that Miss Burns 
who roomed below wondered what was the 
matter. 

Writing to her aunt sobered her down some- 
what. She began to think of herself a little. 


66 


A DAILY DATE. 


“ Celia Murray, do you know what you are 
doing ? ” This was what she heard whispered 
to her from behind. “You have come to the 
city to earn your living, and you have come 
here to board, not to nurse sick landladies, 
nor to become a guardian angel for stray 
young men, nor to exercise the virtue of be- 
nevolence. You must think of yourself, some- 
what. How in the world will you ever be fit 
for your work if you spend so much time and 
energy on working for other people and stay- 
ing up nights? Had you not better seek 
out another boarding-house ? There must be 
plenty in this city, and probably if you looked 
about a little you might find one where you 
would have more conveniences and a better 
room and board. Leave Mrs. Morris to get 
along the best way she can. You are not re- 
sponsible for her. She is a grown woman and 
ought to know enough to take care of herself. 
Anyway, she is only suffering the consequences 
of her foolishness. Better try to-morrow to 
find another boarding-house.” 

Yet, even as Celia heard these words spoken 
in a tempting voice, she knew she would not 
go. She was not made of that kind of stuff. 
Besides she was interested. Whatever her 
cross for the coming week was to be, it would 
not be one to her to remain here now and help 


DAILY EATE.'^ 


67 


work out God’s plans, if she might be per- 
mitted so to do. 

‘‘ And if it might only please my King to 
lift my head up out of prison and set me up 
where I might help others in this boarding- 
house, I would try to make as good a use of 
my liberty and my allowance as Jehoiachin 
did. I wonder what he did do with his al- 
lowance anyway. And it must have been 
such a pleasant thing to him to know, to fully 
understand that his allowance would not fail 
all the days of his life. I wonder if he got 
downhearted sometimes, and feared lest Evil- 
merodach might die and leave him in the lurch, 
or whether he might turn against him some 
day. Now with me it is so different. My 
King is all-powerful. What he has promised, 
I know he will perform. I need never dread 
his dying, for he is everlasting. I can trust 
him perfectly to give me an allowance all the 
days of my life of whatever I need. And yet, 
daily and hourly I distrust, and fear and trem- 
ble, and dread lest I may be left hungry some 
day. What a strange contradiction, what an 
ungrateful, untrustful, unworthy child of the 
King I am.” 

Then she turned out her light and knelt to 
pray. 


CHAPTEH YL 


It is said that Satan trembles when he sees 
the weakest saint upon his knees. It is prob- 
ably true that he also hies him away to take 
counsel with his evil angels to see if they can- 
not by some means overtake that saint in his 
resolves and endeavors, and make him trem- 
ble, and perhaps fall. It certainly seemed to 
Celia the next morning as if everything had 
conspired to make her life hard. 

In the first place it was raining. A cold, 
steady drizzle, that bade fair to continue all day 
and for several days, if it did not turn into snow. 
The furnace, none too good at any time, was 
illy managed. Mrs. Morris usually regulated 
it herself, but Maggie made a poor hand at it. 
She chose this morning to forget to see to it at 
all until the fire had gone out. There was no 
time to build it up then, for she had breakfast 
to get for the boarders who must be off to 
their work at their appointed hours. Celia 
dressed quickly, for her room was so cold she 
was in a shiver. With her blue fingers she 
tried to turn the pages of her Bible to read a 
few words while she combed her hair, but 
68 


DAILY BATE:'> 


69 


finally gave it up she was so cold. She was 
sleepy, too, for she had lost much sleep of late, 
and it was hard to get up before it was fairly 
light and hurry around in the cold. Life 
looked very hard and dreary to her. She 
thought of aunt Hannah getting breakfast 
for Nettie’s family, and buttoning the chil- 
dren’s clothes between times. Somehow the 
thought of aunt Hannah weighed heavily 
upon her this morning. She could not get 
away from it. It brought a sob in her throat 
and a pain at her heart. Why did they have 
to separate ? It was cruel that life was so. 
The tears came to her eyes. She jerked a 
snarl out and broke two teeth of her comb at 
the same time. This did not serve to help her 
temper. She did hate to use a comb with the 
teeth out and once out there was no putting 
them back. Neither could she afford a new 
comb for some time to come. She glanced at 
her plain little silver watch and saw it was 
later than she usually rose, and she hurried 
through her toilet as much as possible, and ran 
downstairs to the dining-room. The German 
stood at the dining-room door, an expression 
of belligerence on his face and his attitude one 
of displeasure. He filled up the door so com- 
pletely that Celia was obliged to ask him to 
let her pass before he moved. She was indig- 


70 


DAILY BATE:^ 


nant at him for this. She found herself liken- 
ing him to one of the animals condemned in 
the Bible. It was unchristian of course, but 
Celia did not feel in a very sweet spirit this 
morning. She recalled what Mrs. Morris had 
said and wished the German would leave the 
house. He looked like a man whom it was 
impossible to please anyway. But she found 
the cause of his displeasure was that there was 
no breakfast forthcoming as yet. Mr. Knowles 
came down, greeted her pleasantly, looked at 
the empty table, and the clock, filled his pocket 
with some crackers on a plate there, and re- 
marked that he guessed he would skip, that it 
was as much as his place was worth if he did 
not get to the store on time, and he would 
have to run all the way to the car to make it 
now, it was so late. Celia felt indignant that 
this young man was obliged to go to a hard 
day’s work unfed. But there was nothing to 
be done now, he must go. It was the hard 
fate of the wage-earner. He must be on time, 
if the house fell. She went to the kitchen 
door and peered in. Maggie was slamming 
about in a grand rage. The biscuits she was 
baking were not even beginning to brown yet, 
as Celia saw by a glimpse into the oven door 
when Maggie opened it and slammed it shut. 
There was some greasy-looking hash cooking 


DAILY BATE.'' 


71 


slowly. It did not look as if it ever would be 
done at the present rate it was cooking. The 
stove looked sulky and the ashes were not yet 
taken up. 

“Maggie,” she said, “can I help you get 
something on the table? These people all 
have to go to work and so do I. If we can’t 
eat in five minutes we’ll have to go without.” 

“ W ell, then, go without ! ” said Maggie, 
rising in a towering passion. “I’m sure it 
won’t hurt you fine folks once in a while. I 
never hired out ^ do everything and I ain’t re- 
sponsible. I’ll get the breakfast as soon as I 
can and not a bit sooner, and you can get out 
of my kitchen. I don’t want you bothering 
’round. I get all fiustered with so many folks 
coming after me. Go on out now, and wait 
till yer breakfast’s ready. And tell the rest I 
won’t cook any dinner fer ’em, if a soul comes 
in this kitchen again.” 

Celia retreated, indignant and outraged. 
To be spoken to in such a manner when she 
was but offering help was an insult. It was a 
peculiarity of hers that when she felt angry 
the tears would come to her eyes. They came 
now. It was exasperating. She went quickly 
to the window to hide them, and looked out in 
the dim little brick alley that ran between the 
houses and watched the rain drop all over the 


72 


DAILY BATEA^ 


bricks. There was a blank brick wall of the 
next house opposite her, and a little further 
toward the front she could see a window and 
some one standing at it. She turned quickly 
away again. There w^as no refuge there. 
Taking in at a glance the table with its un- 
brushed crumbs, and the dishes of uncooked 
hash and underdone biscuits that Maggie was 
just bringing in, she resolved to follow the ex- 
ample of Mr. Knowles and take some crackers. 
Then seizing her hat and coat from the hall 
rack where she had put them, on coming down- 
stairs, she started for the store. It was a long, 
cold walk and she got very wet, but she did 
not feel justified in spending the five cents 
which would have carried her there. In her 
present mood *she had no faith in uncle 
Abner’s fortune. It would probably turn out 
to be some poor land somewhere which would 
never be worth a cent. That was the kind of 
inheritance which usually came to any one in 
their family, like the lot in a new town out 
west that was left to aunt Hannah by her 
eldest brother, where the city authorities com- 
pelled property holders to pave the streets and 
pay large taxes and where there were no pur- 
chasers. Such inheritances one was better off 
without. She felt very bitter in her heart. 
As she Avalked along in the rain, she remem- 


DAILY BATEy 


73 


bered that she had forgotten to kneel by her 
bedside in prayer before she left her room that 
morning, it was so cold and late. She knew 
that must be the reason why she felt so cross 
and unreasonable, and she tried to pray as she 
walked along in the rain, but there were many 
things to distract her thoughts, and she had to 
watch carefully that she did not run into 
some one with her umbrella turned down in 
front of her to keep off the driving rain. She 
thought of aunt Hannah again, now probably 
washing the breakfast dishes, or doing some 
sewing or ironing, and she sighed and felt that 
earth was wet and cold and dreary. Half-way 
to the store, she encountered a little neAvsboy 
Avho followed by her side, and begged her to 
buy a paper. He looked hungry. His feet 
were out at the toes from his shoes, much 
too large. Celia had no money to buy a paper 
and she answered the boy in a decided nega- 
tive that made him turn hopelessly away. It 
made her cross to ^ee his need, when she had 
no power to help him. She realized how cross 
her voice had been and that vexed her. Then 
she blindly stepped into a mud puddle and 
splashed the Avater over the tops of her shoes. 
She shivered as she felt the dampness through 
the thin leather of her boot, and Avondered 
what she would do Avhen the inevitable sore 


74 


A DAILY BATE.'' 


throat, which always with her resulted from 
getting her feet wet, arrived. And so she 
hurried on, tugging after her the heavy cross 
which she had carefully made that morning 
for herself to carry, out of bits of her own and 
other people’s troubles, and letting it spoil the 
sweet peace God had sent her, and soil the 
clean heart he had washed from sin for her. 
It was too bad. Her guardian angel pitied 
her that she could so soon forget her high re- 
soHes, and her heavenly Father. 

Matters were no better when she reached 
the store. One of the girls who belonged at 
the ribbon counter with her was sick. Celi? 
had to do her duty and the girl’s also. Thi, 
might not have been so bad if she kad beei 
left to herself, but the head of that depart 
ment, a young woman with a sour expressioi 
and disappointed eyes, was also out of tempei 
and did her ordering in an exceedingly disj 
greeable manner. She found a great deal ( 
fault and kept demanding of Celia more tha 
she could well accomplish in a given tim 
Celia had hoped it would not be a bu; 
day on account of the rain, but on the co 
trary every woman in town seemed to be 
need of ribbon and to have hit upon that pi 
ticular rainy morning in which to shop, thin 
ing doubtless that the others would stay 


A DAILY BATE. 


75 


Lome and leave the store to her. When the 
noon hour came Celia was cut down to half 
time on account of the rush, and obliged to 
take a few precious minutes of that in putting 
up some ribbons left carelessly on the counter 
by another saleswoman who had gone to her 
luncheon leaving them there. To the young 
girl new to her work, and fresh from a home 
where every necessary comfort at least had 
been hers, it was a long, hard day, and she 
looked forward with no hope of a let-up to the 
evening that was to follow. She grew crosser 
as the day began to wane, and she grew hun- 
gry, and then faint, and then lost both those 
feelings and settled down to a violent headache. 
It was then that a new cause for trouble 
loomed up before her imagination. What if 
she should get sick ? Who would take care of 
her and how should she live ? Aunt Hannah 
would have to come, and what an expense 
that would be! — Ho, aunt Hannah could not 
come. There was no money anywhere to pay 
her fare, or her board when she got there, and 
she was bound to stay with Hettie and Hiram 
as long as they were supporting her. She 
would have to get along without telling aunt 
Hannah. What would become of her? Oh, 
why of course, she would have to go to the 
hospital among strangers and be nursed, and 


76 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


perhaps die, and aunt Hannah never hear and 
then worry and worry and no one would tell 
her. 

It was just in the midst of these thoughts 
that there came the clear voice of the floor 
walker : 

“Miss Murray, will you step to the office a 
moment. There is a message there for you, a 
special delivery letter I believe.” 

With her heart throbbing violently at 
thought of the possibilities contained in a 
special delivery letter, she walked the length 
of the long store. Aunt Hannah must be sick 
and they had sent for her. Surely they would 
do that if aunt Hannah should be so ill she 
needed care, for Hettie would never care for 
her, she was no nurse and hated sick rboms. 
Besides, to be perfectly honest, JSTettie would 
have enough to do in caring for her home and 
children. There was no hospital in the little 
town where Hiram lived, so he would, of 
course, rather pay her fare and keep her while 
she did the nursing than to hire some one to 
care for aunt Hannah. All this reasoning 
went clearly through her brain, as she walked 
swiftly in the direction of the office. It 
seemed as if the writing of her name on the 
receipt book was one of the longest actions 
she ever performed, and her hand trembled so 


DAILY RATE.'^ 


77 


when she retired to the little cloak room to 
read her letter that she could scarcely open 
the envelope, nor take in at first that the let- 
ter bore Eawley and Brown’s printed heading. 
And then she read just a few lines from them 
asking her to call once more upon them and 
as soon as possible. She went back to her 
place among the ribbons feeling almost angry 
with Eawley and Brown that they had 
frightened her so, and yet relieved that there 
was nothing the matter with aunt Hannah. 

It was nearly five o’clock, and the crowd of 
women who were doing rainy day shopping 
had gone home. The rain was pouring down 
harder than ever. The store was compara- 
tively empty. Perhaps she might get away 
for a few moments now ; she would ask. Per- 
mission was granted her, as she had had only 
half her noon hour, and she hurried up to the 
dark little office again. 

She found that she was not too late, for Mr. 
Eawley had not yet gone home, though he 
had his overcoat on as if about to depart. It 
appeared that he wished to ask a few more 
questions to establish certain facts. Celia an- 
swered them as best she could, and then as he 
seemed to be through with her, she asked 
timidly : 

“Would you be so kind as to tell me what 


78 


A DAILY BATEy 


this is all about, anyway ? You said there 
was property. If it should turn out to be 
mine, what would it be? I suppose you do 
not mind giving me a general idea of that, do 
you ? ” 

He looked at her almost kindly under his 
shaggy brows. “ Why no, child ! ” he said. 
“ That’s perfectly proper, of course. Why, I 
haven’t the exact figures in my head, but it’s 
several thousands, well invested, and an old 
farm up in Hew York state that’s well rented. 
There would be enough to give a pretty good 
income every year you know, and if you left 
the investments as they are, it would be a con- 
tinuous one, for they are not likely to fail or fall 
through. Then, too, there is a considerable 
accumulation owing to the doubt about the 
heir. I hope you’ll turn out to be that heir 
and I have no doubt you will. Good-after- 
noon.” Celia tripped down the dark old stair- 
case as if it were covered with the softest car- 
pet ever made. Several thousands! What 
wealth ! What luxury ! She had wished for 
one single thousand, and her Father had sent 
her not one, but many. For she began to be- 
lieve now that the money was hers. All the 
evidence seemed to point that way. The law- 
yer seemed to be convinced, and it needed only 
the coming of a few documents in possession 


A DAILY RATE.'' 


79 


of her uncle Joseph’s old lawyer to corrobo- 
rate what she had told him. She felt pretty 
sure that it was all true. And here she had 
been cross and growling all day, and worse 
than that, she had been carrying crosses not 
meant for her shoulders, and probably leaving 
undone the things God had laid out for her to 
do. What wickedness had been hers. Only 
last night she had knelt in earnest consecra- 
tion, and now to-day she had fallen so low as 
almost to forget that she had a Father whose 
dear child she was, and who was caring for 
her. Could she not retrieve some of the lost 
day ? She had but one hour left in the store. 
She would try what she could do. She smiled 
on the beggar child who stood looking wist- 
fully in at the pretty things, in the store win- 
dow as she passed in to her work. When she 
reached the ribbon counter again, she found 
the head of the department looking very tired, 
and complaining of a headache. There were 
other burdens besides her own she could bear. 
She might offer to do her work for her and 
let her rest, and she could bring her a glass of 
water. It was not her business to put up cer- 
tain ribbons not in her own case, but she 
could do it for the other girl who was absent 
and save the head girl. As she made her 
fingers fly among the bright silks and satins, 


80 


DAILY RATE:-> 


she wondered if there were more burdens for 
her to bear for others Avhen she reached the 
boarding-house, and whether Mrs. Morris 
would be better to-night and able to sit up 
and direct things a little, and then there came 
to her mind the joyous thought that perhaps 
she was to have the means soon to make that 
house permanently better in some ways and 
help its inmates. How light her heart and 
her shoulders felt now that she had laid down 
that heavy self-imposed cross ! It was won- 
derful ! Oh, why could she not learn to trust 
her Master ? The verse of a loved hymn came 
and hummed itself over in her mind. 

“ Fearest sometimes that thy Father 
Hath forgot ? 

When the clouds around thee gather, 

Doubt him not! 

Always hath the daylight broken — 

Always hath he comfort spoken — 

Better hath he been for years, 

Than thy fears.’' 


CHAPTEE YIL 


Miss Hannah Grant sat in her room un- 
der the eaves darning little Johnnie’s stocking. 
Her hair was grey and rippled smoothly over 
her finely shaped head. Her sweet face wore 
a sad, far-away expression. It had grown 
habitual with her ever since she had come to 
live with her niece Hettie. Perhaps a close 
observer would see that the sadness was a 
shade deeper this afternoon. Her eyes were 
deep grey and seemed to go well with her hair. 
She gave one the impression of being able to 
see further with them than most people, and 
there was a luminousness about them that lit 
up her otherwise plain face, and made it truly 
beautiful. Her gown was plain and old and 
grey. She always wore grey dresses. They 
had been becoming long ago in the days when 
it mattered whether she wore becoming things, 
and now that she cared no more about the be- 
comingness, she wore them for sweet associa- 
tion’s sake, and for the sake of one long gone 
who used to admire them when she wore them. 
She did not seem to know that they still suited 
her better than any other color, or absence of 
color, could have done. 


81 


82 


*A DAILY BATE.'^ 


The hole was large and ill-shaped, for John- 
nie was hard on his stockings, but she darned 
it patiently back and forth, and seemed to be 
thinking of something else. Once she laid it 
down and went to the closet for her little grey 
worsted shawl to throw around her shoulders, 
for the room was heated only by a drum from 
the stove downstairs and she felt chilly. She 
usually sat in the sitting-room in the afternoon 
to sew or mend, but there had been a reason 
for her coming up here to-day. She had set- 
tled herself as usual by the west window down- 
stairs to get a good light on her work. She 
had a large peach basket full of stockings by 
her side, and her workbasket on the window. 
The baby, creeping about the floor, had upset 
the peach basket and scattered its contents 
around, and Nettie, coming down just then in 
a new red cashmere shirt waist she had finished 
the day before, had jerked him unceremoniously 
away from among the stockings and hastily 
bundled them all into the basket, shoving it 
behind aunt Hannah’s chair and out of her 
reach. As she did so, she remarked in a disa- 
greeable tone that she wished aunt Hannah 
wouldn’t bring that old thing into the sitting- 
room. Couldn’t she bring a pair of stockings 
at a time, and not litter up the whole room ? 
She was expecting Mrs. Morgan and her sister 


A DAILY bate: 


83 


in with their embroidery and crocheting, and 
she did like to have things look a little nice. 
Aunt Hannah had meekly disposed of the 
stocking basket behind her ample apron, and 
tliere had been silence in the room for a few 
minutes. Then young Mrs. Bartlett re- 
marked : 

“ Aunt Hannah, I think you had better go 
and change your dress, if you are going to sit 
there. That old grey thing doesn’t look very 
well. I wish to goodness you had a black 
silk, or something, like other folks. You al- 
ways waste your money on grey things when 
you have to buy anything. It’s a dreadfully 
gloomy color. It makes you look sallow, too, 
now you’re getting older.” 

Hettie had gone out in the kitchen then for 
a minute and returned just as aunt Hannah 
was starting upstairs with the darning basket. 

Aunt Hannah ! ” she called, “ take your 
shawl and bonnet up with you, won’t you ? I 
s’pose you’d just as soon keep them up there, 
wouldn’t you ? Hiram says he hates to see 
the hall rack cluttered up so.” 

Aunt Hannah put down the basket on the 
stairs, descended swiftly, gathered her shawl 
and bonnet and one or two other belongings 
of hers which Avere downstairs, in inconspic- 
uous places, and carried them all upstairs. She 


84 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


was not in the habit of leaving her bonnet and 
shawl on the rack, and had only done so last 
night when she came in from prayer-meeting, 
because she had buckwheat cakes to set before 
going to bed, and when that was done and she 
started to take them away, Nettie had asked 
her to carry a lamp and two comfortables up 
for her, and in doing so the shawl and bonnet 
had escaped her notice. It was a little thing, 
and she realized that the hall rack looked bet- 
ter without her shawl and bonnet, but some- 
how it was one of the many little things that 
gave her the feeling that she had no home. 
She had put them all meekly away and sat 
down in her little cold room near the drum to 
darn. She had done what she was asked to do 
with one exception. She did not change her 
dress and go down again. She saw that Net- 
tie would like to have her out of the way for 
the afternoon, and she did not wish to remain 
where she was not wanted. She did not sigh 
as some women would have done. Instead, 
her eyes took on that far-away look. She was 
beginning to long so sorely for the open gates 
of her home above where she need never more 
feel that desolation of not belonging, and where 
she would meet loved ones, and above all her 
Father, face to face. Yet she knew her heav*- 
enly Father was with her, even in this home 


A DAILY RATE:'> 


85 


where she was treated as a burden, and she 
could be content to stay and do his bidding, 
only sometimes that great longing for the face 
to face view grew upon her till her heart ached 
with the desire to go. 

In her bureau drawer, safe hid in tissue 
paper in a white box smelling of rose leaves 
there were some letters, and an old daguerreo- 
type. The picture was in an old-fashioned 
leather frame that closed with a little brass 
hook, and was lined with stamped purple vel- 
vet. The face inside was of a young man 
with sweet, serious eyes, a grave, handsome 
face, smoothly shaven, heavy, dark hair tossed 
back from a high white forehead, and the 
dress of the olden time — a high rolling collar 
and stock. The letters were from this man 
to Hannah Grant, written when he was in 
the theological seminary, and they contained 
bright glad plans for their future, Hannah’s 
and his. They might not have seemed bright 
to some women, for they were planning, so 
soon as he had finished his ministerial train- 
ing, to go to the Foreign Mission field and 
work together for the Master they both loved 
better than anything else. And next to him 
Jbhey had loved each other. How bright her 
life had seemed to her then as she did her 
daily duties ; sang about them ; thought of 


86 


A DAILY BATE." 


the future and wrote her happy letters ; and 
thanked the Lord daily that she was to be 
permitted to do his work in this honorable 
way. The time had gone by rapidly then, 
and the years of study had been completed. 
Hannah’s wedding day was set, her simple 
lovely wedding gown was finished, and it was 
grey. He loved grey. It had litttle touches 
of soft white about the throat and wrists, just 
enough to bring out the coloring of Hannah’s 
delicately cut face. And then, — suddenly 
there happened one of those mysteries of the 
kingdom which we shall understand by and 
by, and to which now we can only say ‘‘ It is 
the Lord, let him do what seemeth him best,” 
and trust. The earnest young missionary was 
taken up higher, there to receive his reward. 
His bride, when she could rally from the 
shock of this sudden ending of her life joy, 
bowed to the will of him to whose keeping 
she had long ago given her will and her life, 
and was enabled to say with tears of triumph 
that like that man of God of old her beloved 
had “ walked with God and was not, for God 
took him.” . 

She had thought even then to go alone, and 
take the message of Jesus to those who knew 
him not, and bear her sorrow more easily by 
thinking she could do some of the work which 


DAILY rate:' 


87 


they would have done together. But God 
opened another door for her and showed her 
plainly that he had called her to a duty at 
home, and so she took her saddened heart, her 
sweet face and her tender ways to her sister’s 
motherless little children and had lived there 
ever since. Sometimes now, .when she thought 
how she was not wanted in this home, and yet 
could not go anywhere else by force of cir- 
cumstances, she would take out that pictured 
face and wonder if James could know how she 
was being treated what he would think and 
feel about it, and think how he would guard 
her from the world and shield her if he were 
only here. And then she would be glad that 
he could not know, or that if he could, he was 
where he knew it would not any of it be for 
long, and that she would soon come home to 
be with Jesus and with him forevermore, and 
that time to him was only a brief space. It 
was at such times that her eyes would take on 
their far-away look. 

So she sat and worked and thought that 
afternoon. In due course of time the expected 
visitors arrived. The woman upstairs heard 
their voices, and presently they drew nearer 
to the stove in the sitting-room. Their talk 
could be quite distinctly heard now, but Han- 
nah was absorbed in her own thoughts, and 


88 


A DAILY bate:' 


she paid no attention as they gossiped on 
about this one and that, with “You don’t say 
SOS,” and “Well, I always thought as muchs,” 
and “Did-she-say thats,” until she heard l^et- 
tie say, “Yes, she will stay with us this winter 
anyway. No, it isn’t quite as pleasant as to 
be alone you know, but then what could we 
do ? She had no home to go to. My husband 
wanted my cousin to come, too, though it was 
more than we really could afford to do to feed 
and clothe two more, but she was very un- 
grateful, and wanted to have her own way 
and see the world a little. I expect she’ll 
come back humbly enough when she’s been 
away a couple of weeks longer, and if she 
does I’m sure I don’t know what in the world 
we shall do with her. Oh yes, aunt Hannah 
helps me a little here and there, but you can’t 
ask much of people that are getting on in 
years. (Aunt Hannah was forty-nine.) My 
father always kept her in luxury as she was 
my mother’s only sister. Yes, people do get 
spoiled sometimes that way. But, dear me, 
all she can do wouldn’t make up for the 
outgo. Yes, she was a sort of acting house- 
keeper in our home after mother died, but you 
know no one can ever take a mother’s place. 
(Johnnie, shut that door and go away and 
stop your coaxing, or I’ll take you upstairs and 


DAILY RATE:'> 89 

give you a good spanking. E’o, you canH go 
down by the pond to play to-day.) No, I never 
had so much to do with her as the younger 
children. I was the elder daughter, you know.” 

Aunt Hannah quickly and noiselessly moved 
away from her position by the drum to the 
other side of the room. And this from the 
little girl she had so carefully mothered, and 
tended, and tried to train ! And had loved, 
too, for Hannah Grant loved all that God 
loved and placed in her way. Ah, this was 
hard ! And must she go on living here and 
knowing that she was not wanted, that she 
was a burden, and that lies — yes, actually 
lies, for there was no use trying to call them 
by a softer name — were being told to the peo- 
ple in the village about her ? How could she ? 
She could see just how it would go on from 
year to year. Hiram would come in cross at 
night and either ignore her altogether, or else 
contradict every word she spoke, and find 
fault with anything he knew she had done, in 
a surly, impersonal way, which he knew and 
she knew he meant for her. The children 
would grow up to disrespect her, as they were 
beginning to do already. And her dear Celia ! 
She was toiling bravely far away from her ! 
There was no prospect of anything better for 
years to come, perhaps never so long as she 


90 


A DAILY RATE.''> 


lived. She knelt down by her bed, and prayed 
for a long time. Then she arose quietly and 
went back to her window, a chastened look 
upon her face. This was not more than he 
had helped her to bear before. Indeed, it was 
not nearly so much. It was what Jesus had 
himself borne, being despised and rejected of 
men. She darned on till the room grew dark, 
and then she sat in the twilight and thought. 
She could not bring herself to go downstairs 
yet, not till she must to get supper. She 
thanked the Lord she had a room to herself 
where she might take refuge alone and think 
of him. It was seldom that aunt Hannah had 
had even this privilege in the daytime since 
she had come to live with Hettie, there was 
always so much to be done, and Hettie seemed 
to expect it to be done quickly. 

The company below had departed, but Miss 
Grant took no heed. She sat and watched 
the grey sky grow into night. There was no 
sunset. It had been a grey day. There was 
not even a point of light to make the sky 
lovely. It sank into darkness quietly, soberly, 
unnoticed and unlovely. She thought it was 
like herself. But then there had been some 
reason why God had not made a bright sunset 
to-night, and there surely was some reason 
Avhy he had wanted her life grey instead of 


A DAILY RATE A 


91 


rose-colored. She sighed just a little, and now 
that the darkness had stolen softly upon her, 
she let a tear have its way down her cheek. 

Downstairs E^ettie was growing restless. 
Hiram came in a little earlier than usual with 
a sour look and asked how long it would be 
before supper. Nettie said it would not be 
long, and wondered why aunt Hannah did not 
come downstairs. Hiram remarked that if the 
old woman was getting lazy and taking on fine- 
lady airs they had better give her a warning, for 
he couldn’t support her for nothing. He threw 
a letter for her upon the table while Nettie was 
lighting the lamp. Nettie took it up, glanced 
at the writing, and then sent Johnnie up with 
it and told him to tell aunt Hannah his father 
had come and wanted his supper right away. 

“ It’s from Celia again,” she said, in a con- 
temptuous tone. “ She wastes more money 
on postage. I don’t think it’s right to do that 
in her position. If she has any extra money 
she better save it up and help with supporting 
aunt Hannah. A great fat letter, too. I don’t 
see what she finds to write about. This is the 
third one this week. It’s perfectly absurd ! ” 

But aunt Hannah did not hear what they 
said, she was not sitting near the drum, and 
would not again, even if she was cold. 

Johnnie came down and reported that aunt 


92 


DAILY BATEA^ 


Hannah had a light in her room and Hettio 
rattled the stove with all her might, and 
slammed the dishes around more than was 
necessary, but still aunt Hannah did not come, 
and finally Nettie began to get supper herself. 
She sent Johnnie up again pretty soon to tell 
aunt Hannah she wished she would come 
downstairs, that she needed her, and Johnnie 
came back and said aunt Hannah told him to 
tell mamma she would be down pretty soon, 
she could not come just now. 

“ Well, really ! ” said Hiram, looking up from 
his paper, “seems to me she is putting on airs 
at a great rate. If I were you, Nettie, I would 
just sit down and wait till she comes. I 
wouldn’t get supper at all. If you haven’t the 
grit to tell her to come down now when you 
send for her. I’ll do it for you.” 

But Nettie rattled the stove and the dishes 
and managed to get supper ready pretty soon. 
She did not quite understand her aunt. This 
was a new development. Never in all the 
years she had known her and been cared for 
by her had aunt Hannah ever refused a re- 
quest for help. It must be something serious. 
Was she sick? Nettie had some little heart 
left in her, and it irritated her to have her 
husband speak so of her relatives, so she bris- 
tled up at him, while she made the coffee. 


A DAILY BATE A ^ 


93 


“ You’ll not do any such thing, Hiram Bart- 
lett. I guess she has a right to stay in her 
room once in a while. I’m sure I never knew 
her to do the like before in the whole of her 
life. If she was your aunt, you wouldn’t 
speak of her in that way. I think you ought 
to be a little grateful for the way she took 
care of you last week when you were so sick, 
and me with the baby sick, too. If she hadn’t 
been here I should have had my hands more 
than full. I don’t know what I should have 
done. Johnnie, make that baby stop crying ! 
Lillie, pick that doll up off the floor ! I keep 
walking over something of yours all the time. 
I s’pose Celia’s got into some trouble and aunt 
Hannah’s worried about her. I expected as 
much. That girl hadn’t experience enough of 
the world to go off to the city alone. Some- 
body ought to have taken her home to live. 
If one of the boys had been married she could 
have gone with them, but the boys are so self- 
ish they never think of other people. If you 
had any sense of the fitness of things you’d 
have done it yourself.” 

They talked on in a wrangling way until 
supper was ready, but it was not until they 
had nearly finished the evening meal that the 
hall door opened and aunt Hannah walked in. 


CHAPTEE YIII. 


Auot Hannah had lighted her lamp a few 
minutes after the light of the day Avent out, 
to get a little comfort from her Bible before 
going downstairs to face her trials, for it must 
be confessed that aunt Hannah had not had a 
cross so heavy to beaif in many a year, as it 
was for her to go downstairs that night and 
face Hiram and Hettie calmly after the Avords 
she had heard her niece speak. She had tried 
to think of all the comfort in the Bible as she 
sat in the tAvilight. She had a great store of 
the precious Avords to draw from, for her Bible 
had ever been her chief delight. She kneAV 
just Avhere to turn in her memory for the right 
help and it came trooping forth. 

“ Fear thou not ; for I am Avith thee : be not 
dismayed ; for I am thy God : I Avill strengthen 
thee ; yea, I Avill help thee ; yea, I Avill uphold 
thee Avith the right hand of my righteousness. 
. . . When thou passest through the Avaters, 

I Avill be Avith thee ; and through the rivers, 
they shall not overfloAV thee : Avhen thou Avalk- 
est through the fire, thou shalt not be burned. 
, . . God is faithful, Avho Avill not suffer 

94 


A DAILY RATE.'^ 


95 


you to be tempted above that ye are able ; but 
will with the temptation also make a way to 
escape, that ye may be able to bear it. . . . 

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation : 
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown 
of life, which the Lord hath promised to them 
that love him. . . . For I reckon that the 

sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
to be compared with the glory which shall be 
revealed in us. . . . All things work to- 

gether for good to them that love God. 
. . . To be conformed to the image of his 

Son. ... If God be for us, who can be 
against us ? . . . Hay in all these things 

we are more than conquerors through him that 
loved us.” 

Then she lighted the lamp to search out 
another promise, for it seemed to her as if 
just to look upon the words would somehow 
help her. It was at that moment Johnnie 
brought up Celia’s letter. She opened it 
quickly, the anticipation of another trouble 
arising in her mind, for what might not have 
happened to Celia so far away in that great 
city alone, since the last letter she wrote ? 

It was a thick letter and she read it slowly 
through, taking no thought of time because 
the matter it contained absorbed her mind 
completely, and when Johnnie came up the 


96 


DAILY BATEA^ 


second time, she had something new to think 
about which demanded immediate attention 
and had claims prior to any downstairs. The 
letter read thus : 

“ Dear aunt Hannah : 

“ Do you remember the words on the little 
bookmark you sent me for my birthday? I 
know you do, for you have a way of hiding 
all such words away in that wonderful mem- 
ory of yours. You know the heading was 
about an allowance, from the king, a con- 
tinual allowance. When I read it I knew just 
what you meant by sending it to me. You 
wanted to remind me that my King had plenty 
of extra strength to give me, and that he had 
promised to furnish me with enough for every 
day of my life to bear that day’s trials. It did 
help me, for I knew I was trying to bear some 
of them all by myself, and that I often and 
often forget that I do not have to take up 
next year’s crosses and worry about them. 
But I remember, when I first read the words, 
I couldn’t help longing deep down in my heart, 
that I could have a real earthly allowance of 
money, just solid hard dirty money, coming 
in every week, and every month, and every 
year, and enough to supply all the actual needs 
so that I might live with you and work for 


‘M DAILY rate: 


97 


you and have you all to myself. Then I felt 
indeed that my head would be lifted up out of 
prison forever — for I read the chapter about 
Jehoiachin as you meant I should, you dear 
good auntie — and it helped me too. You see 
I had been taking up a big heavy cross for the 
year to come for you. I didn’t feel happy 
about you there at Hiram’s, for in spite of me 
I cannot like Hiram’s ways and I don’t believ^e 
you do. I know for one thing, and a very 
small thing, that you hate tobacco smoke and 
have never been used to it, and yet Hiram 
smokes all over the house whenever he pleases, 
without even so much as caring whether it is 
repulsive to you or not. In fact, I am wicked 
enough to suspect that he might do it the 
more, just because you don’t like it, to show 
you he is master of his own house. I am so 
sorry I have to feel that way about my cousin- 
in-law, but I can’t help it. There is this com- 
fort about it, I don’t believe Hettie minds, and 
as she is the one that has to be his wife and 
go through life with him, it is a relief to think 
she doesn’t. But there ! That is all out of 
the way, and unchristian, and I have been too 
much blessed to allow myself to say anything 
unchristian about any one. Only I did want 
you to understand that I appreciated how hard 
it was for you to cheerfully accept Hettie’s 


98 


A DAILY BATE. 


proposal and go to live Avith her for a few 
years. I did not say so then because I thought 
any Avords Avould only make it harder to bear, 
and I know my oAvn dear auntie’s old Avay of 
always finding a thing easier to bear if she 
succeeds in making other people think she is 
perfectly happy. That is just one Avay, and 
the only Avay in Avhich you ever are the least 
little bit dishonest. 

“ But I must hurry on with my main theme 
Avhich has not even been hinted at yet. And 
I have a great deal to Avrite, and must get it 
in to-night, for I cannot bear to have you Avait 
a minute longer than is necessary to hear the 
good neAVS. 

“ In the first place, you are not to stay at 
Nettie’s another day — that is not unless you 
prefer to, of course — ^but you are to pack up 
every scrap that belongs to you and take the 
first train to Philadelphia, sending me a tele- 
gram (at my expense) to say Avhat train you 
start on. You must come to the Broad Street 
station — have your trunks checked there too, 
and don’t leave any of your things behind, for 
there is plenty of room to put all your things 
here, and you are not to go back to Nettie’s 
unless you go on a visit of pleasure.” 

Aunt Hannah glanced up to see if the little 


DAILY BATE.” 


99 


room with its old ingrain carpet and cheap 
furniture was still about her. She was almost 
breathless with the proposal of the letter. 
Things seemed to whirl around her. She 
wanted to get something to steady her before 
she read on. She saw the black side of the 
sheet-iron drum and remembered the after- 
noon, and a glance toward her open Bible 
showed her the lines “ God is faithful . . . 

will with the temptation also make a way to 
escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” She 
drew a long breath and closed her eyes for a 
minute’s lifting of her heart to God. He was 
going to make the way to escape. She did 
not yet understand how it was to be done, but 
her faith caught at the fact that it was to be 
done. Then she went back to the letter. 

‘‘You are to give your checks to the porter 
on the car — and you are to take a sleeper if 
you come at night, or a parlor car if you 
choose to come in the daytime. I enclose 
your ticket.” 

Aunt Hannah noticed then that a small 
pink and white paper had fallen from the 
letter when she opened it, and slipped to the 
floor. She stooped and picked it up in a dazed 
way. Good for one trip to Philadelphia it 

L«rc. 


100 


DAILY BATE. 


certainly was. This was something tangible 
and brought her back to everyday life. She 
really was to go, for here was the ticket. She 
went on with the letter eagerly now. 

“You are to have the porter carry your 
satchel into the station for you, and I will 
meet you at the gate and take you home. 
Yes, HOME, aunt Hannah, yours and mine, do 
you hear that ? It isn’t very pretty, nor invit- 
ing yet, but it is ours for a while, for as long 
as we want it, and we shall fix it into a charm- 
ing home. And now you want to know how 
it all happened and what it means. 

“Well, this morning I was sent for again to 
come to Kawley and Brown’s office on very 
important business, and as they told me it 
might keep me some time I asked for the day 
off at the store. I couldn’t have had that, if I 
had not done double duty for the last week in 
place of a girl who was sick. Mr. Dobson was 
very nice and said certainly in such a case he 
would give me permission. Of course, I sup- 
pose I’ll lose my pay for that day, but it had 
to be done, and it doesn’t matter now anyway. 
Well, Mr. Eawley hemmed and hawed a good 
deal, and finally told me that everything was 
satisfactorily settled at last and that I had 
been duly declared by the court to be uncle 


A DAILY EATEy 


101 


Abner’s heir, without any question or doubt 
an^wvliere, and that he wished to go over the 
papers with me and place the property in my 
hands. There was some red tape to be gone 
through with which I needn’t stop now to tell 
you about. It was all very interesting to me, 
the number of times I had to sign my name, 
and all the witnesses, and I felt just like a girl 
in a book, but I haven’t time for that. There 
is better to come. It seems uncle Abner had 
a farm where he lived after he got old, and his 
wife died and his son went to India, and there 
Avas a young farmer and his family who lived 
there and took care of him, and they have 
rented the house ever since. They still live 
there. The farm is pretty good, way up in 
New York somewhere I think, I didn’t pay 
much attention to it. Then he owned an in- 
terest in a coal mine near Scranton and a feAv 
government bonds, not many of those, but the 
Avhole is well invested and brings in a nice lit- 
tle income every year, sure, and I couldn’t 
help thinking of Jehoiachin Avhen Mr. Eawley 
Avas telling me about it. He said it Avas so 
well invested that it Avas, as near as anything 
earthly could be, sure, a continual ‘ income as 
long as I lived ’ ifd kept things in their present' 
shape, for uncle Abner had been a very care- 
ful man and ahvays invested in pretty safe 


102 


DAILY BATE. 


things with what little he had. I didn’t tell 
him I considered it much instead of little, 
though. It seems a fortune to me. I suppose 
I shall learn better hereafter, but I am going 
to try to be very wise with it anyway, with 
God’s help. 

“Now you want to know how much it is, I 
know. Well, it amounts to about nine hundred 
dollars a year at the lowest calculation, besides 
several years of accumulated interest not in- 
vested yet. Isn’t that riches ? Why, you’ve 
often told me that not many ministers and few 
missionaries get more than that. Now then, 
why shouldn’t you and I be missionaries ? I 
know it has been your dear desire all your life, 
and I don’t know of anything that would be 
grander work. And as we can’t go as foreign 
missionaries just now, what if we should be 
home missionaries ? Of course, two lone 
women couldn’t take mortar and bricks and 
build a church and preach, at least I shouldn’t 
like to try it, though I’m not at all sure but I 
could do it. You know we always thought, if 
we had the time and the material and the pat- 
tern, you and I could do almost anything any- 
body else could if we tried. Well, I began to 
think about a mission for us, and before I had 
gotten half-way home to write to you it came 
to me just what I would like to do. Why 


A DAILY RATEA'' 


103 


shouldn’t you and I make a real home mission 
for ourselves right here in the city of Phila- 
delphia, by making a good home for a few 
people who have none of their own? It 
seems to me there is as much gospel some- 
times in a good sweet loaf of bread such as you 
can make, as there is in — well — some sermons. 
Don’t you think so? Then we could get a 
hold on the people who ate it, and get them to 
go to the churches, and try to help them in their 
everyday lives. Why, some of the young 
men here would stay at home evenings occa- 
sionally, perhaps regularly, if they had a 
pleasant, warm, light place to stay in. In- 
stead of that they go out to the saloons, per- 
haps. Anyway, auntie dear, they don’t look 
rested in the morning when they come down 
to breakfast. And oh, what a breakfast we 
did have this morning ! It seems as though I 
never can like hash again, though I always 
used to enjoy ours so much at home when you 
made it. But hash in Mrs. Morris’ boarding- 
house is a very different dish indeed. When I 
got home I went straight up to Mrs. Morris’ 
room. She has not gotten entirely well from 
her severe sickness of a few weeks ago yet, 
though she goes around and directs things, but 
she seems to be so worried all the time. You 
know I told you how many bills she has un- 


104 


DAILY BATE.'' 


paid and how hard times have been for her. 
You wouldn’t wonder a bit if you could be 
here and watch the way things go a little 
while. She was lying on her bed when I 
went in and looking as if she would like to 
cry, if she only were young enough and had 
the energy. She told me right away that she 
was in trouble again. She was a month be- 
hind in her rent, and the agent had been 
around and said it must be paid in advance 
after this and he couldn’t wait longer than till 
five o’clock. She only pays twenty-five dol- 
lars a month, and with all her boarders you 
might think she could pay it, but she doesn’t, 
that’s all. While she was talking I began to 
revolve my plans very rapidly. I didn’t want 
to act too rashly, for you know you always 
tell me that is one of my great faults, but I 
knew if I did anything it ought to be done 
very soon. Probably it would have been 
wiser to have asked Mr. Pawley’s advice, and 
perhaps some of my relatives, but I had an in- 
nate suspicion that I would not be allowed to 
do it at all, if I asked. And why shouldn’t I ? 
The money is mine, and I am of age if I am 
not very experienced. I knew you would like 
it, at least I felt very sure you would, and if you 
and God like a thing I don’t care what all the 
rest of the world think. So I asked Mrs. Mor- 


A DAILY BATEI’ 


105 


ris a lot of questions, some I had not asked her 
before. You see I had a whole two hundred 
dollars in my pocketbook, Mr. Eawley had 
given me. He said it was mine, and I might 
as well take it to begin on. So I took it. I 
knew I would want to do a lot of things right 
away, and that the first one would be to get 
you here at once, and to buy your ticket. I 
was just aching to spend some money, for it 
was the first time in my life I ever had much 
to spend. I asked Mrs. Morris about her 
butcher’s bill, and her grocery bill, and things 
and I found they were not so very big as she 
had made me think at first. Then I asked her 
point blank how she would like to let a woman 
come in here in her place for three months or 
so, and take the boarding-house off her hands, 
paying the bills for the present, and letting 
her pay them by and by, if she chose, or if not, 
holding the furniture as collateral. She didn’t 
know what I meant by collateral, but she 
soon understood, and said she would be only 
too glad, only she never could find any woman 
who would be so foolish. She said, too, that 
she was afraid if she once got away she would 
never be willing to come back, but just stay 
and leave the old furniture to make it right 
with her debts, and she sighed and returned to 
her trouble and began to cry. Then I couldn’t 


106 


DAILY BATE. 


stand it any longer. I told her I thought I 
knew the right one for her, and I would write 
to her at once and attend to it all if she was 
sure she agreed to it. It did not take her 
long to decide what she would do after she 
was fully convinced that I meant what I said. 
She began to pack up her clothes right away 
and to talk about what she would take with 
her. She hasn’t much worth while, I guess. 
She will want those horrid crayon portraits of 
her family and herself, I hope, and a few 
other ornaments. But when we had gotten to 
this point, we found it was five o’clock, and 
the door bell made Mrs. Morris remember the 
rent agent. Sure enough, he had come, and 
Maggie came up to call Mrs. Morris. She 
looked at me blankly as much as to say : 
‘What shall I do?’ She had forgotten all 
about him. I thought just a minute and then 
I told her I had some money, enough I thought 
to pay the agent and satisfy him, and I would 
go down and see if I could make him behave 
till we got things settled. Then I went down- 
stairs and put on my most dignified air. He 
bristled at me and demanded Mrs. Morris. 

“ ‘ Mrs. Morris is not well and is lying down,’ 
said I, ‘ and I have come down in her place. 
Is there anything I can do for you ? ’ 

‘“Well, I’ve got to see her if she is lying 


DAILY BATE:^ 


107 


down,” he said in a loud voice, and he took a 
couple of steps toward the stairs as if he would 
go up to her at once. ‘ She’s got to pay her 
rent. She’ll be put out if she don’t do it at 
once. This thing has gone ’ 

‘‘ ‘ Oh,’ I said, ‘ it isn’t in the least necessary 
for you to get excited, if that is all. I can at- 
tend to the rent as well as anything else. Are 
you the agent ? ’ 

“ ‘Yes, I am,’ he said, ‘ and I won’t have any 
more talk either. I want my money.’ 

“ I had my pocketbook in my hand, and I 
tried to freeze him with a look as I opened it. 
When he saw me bring out a big roll of bills 
he almost looked faint, he was so astonished. 

“ ‘ How much is it that is back ? ’ I asked. 

“ ‘ Two months and a half,’ he snarled. 

“ I began to count out the money, and then I 
remembered my own experience with Eawley 
and Brown and thought I would give him a 
little taste of it. I drew back and said ‘ You 
are sure you are the agent and fully entitled 
to receive this money ? Can you give me any 
credentials ? ’ 

“ He was very much taken aback, and got red 
and embarrassed and at last remembered that 
Mrs. Morris knew him. Then he grew angry 
again and demanded to see her. I sent a mes- 
sage up to Mrs. Morris that if she was able we 


108 


A DAILY BATEI^ 


would like to have her come down, and she 
came. When it was finally all settled and the 
receipt signed, I told the young man that he 
might tell the owner that the rent hereafter 
would be paid in advance and on time, and 
that there were a few repairs which needed 
immediate attention and we would like to 
have him call at his earliest convenience. He 
went away quite crestfallen, and I began to 
feel quite like a householder. The only thing 
that troubles me is Mrs. Morris’ extreme grati- 
tude, because, dear auntie, I’m afraid I haven’t 
loved her as much as I ought to for Christ’s 
sake, and I therefore can’t take to myself the 
credit she would give me. It is all very selfish 
in me. 

“ Now the matter stands this way. If you 
possibly can come this week, do so. Mrs. Mor- 
ris will be ready to leave on your arrival. She 
will go to her sister out West, and I doubt if 
she ever returns. I have given her some money 
to go with. It isn’t always you can buy a full 
fledged boarding-house, boarders and all so 
cheap. I suppose some one would call it dear, 
but I am very happy in my purchase. I shall 
keep my place in the store till you come any- 
way, for I don’t care to have the boarders find 
out my connection with the business, till they 
see some of the changes I want to have made 


DAILY BATE." 


109 


for the better. The only servant here is worse 
than none. She is so dirty and saucy you never 
could stand her. If you possibly can induce 
Molly to come with you, bring her. I enclose 
a New York draft which I think will be all 
the money you will want to bring her, and pay 
any little bills till you get here. And now, 
dear auntie, I do hope and pray you will say 
yes, and come at once, and not find any 
‘oughts, and ought nots’ in the way, as you 
sometimes do. You see I have gone ahead 
and burned my bridges behind me, because I 
felt that you ‘ ought ’ whether you think so 
or not, for I mean to take care of you now 
myself and you are working too hard there. 
Here we will keep you in pink cotton and only 
let you direct. I shall keep good servants, 
and if I don’t always make the two ends meet 
why I shall have ‘a continual allowance’ 
given me of my King to draw upon. 

“ Your loving, eager 
“ Celia.” 


CHAPTEK IX. 


There was a calmness and “ upliftedness ” 
about Miss Grant’s face as she entered the 
dining-room that the people about that table 
did not understand, and it rather angered 
them than otherwise. She walked quietly to 
her accustomed chair and sat down. Xobody 
spoke, but she had so far forgotten her after- 
noon’s troubles as to be oblivious of this. 
Hiram w^as trying to think of the most sar- 
castic thing he could say, and so failed to say 
anything, while Nettie in her various revul- 
sions of feeling did not know how to begin. 
Aunt Hannah herself opened the conversation 
in the calmest, most self-contained tone possi- 
ble, as if the question she asked was one she 
often asked of her nephew. 

“Hiram, can you tell me what time the 
through Philadelphia trains go?” 

Hiram raised his cold, black eyes to her face 
in astonishment, a moment, and stared at her 
as much as to say, “ What possible concern of 
yours is that ? ” and then dropped them to his 
plate again and went on eating. After a 
110 


A DAILY BATEI^ 


111 


suitable pause he said freezingly, “No.” 
Aunt Hannah tried again. 

“ Isn’t there a time-table in the paper ? 
Could you find out for me ?” 

“ I don’t know,” said Hiram, this time with- 
out looking up. “ I suppose if it’s there you 
can find it as well as I can.” 

“ What in the world do you want with the 
time-table, aunt Hannah ? ” asked Nettie, 
peevishly, with an undertone of anxiety in her 
voice. “ There isn’t anything the matter with 
Celia, is there ? I presume she has lost her 
place and is coming back on us. I always 
supposed that was the way her venture would 
turn out. She ought to have tried to get a 
place in the country for housework. It was 
all she was ever trained to do. Anybody 
might know she couldn’t get on in the city.” 

“ Nothing is the matter with Celia, Nettie,” 
answered her aunt, “ except that she has writ- 
ten me to come to Philadelphia. She has 
found something there for me to do, and I 
have decided that it will be best for me to go 
at once. I shall have to start to-morrow, if 
possible, because I am being waited for.” 

“ You go to Philadelphia! ” exclaimed Net- 
tie dropping her fork. “ The perfect idea I Has 
Celia gone crazy ? Why aunt Hannah you 
couldn’t get along in the city. Why, you — 


112 


A DAILY BATE.'* 


you — wouldn’t know how to get anywhere. 
You don’t understand. Philadelphia is a large 
city and you couldn’t get across the street 
alone. And what could you do ? You are 
not going to start in as a clerk in a store at 
your time of life, I hope. You would break 
down at once, and then we should have you 
both to care for, for I fully expect to have 
something happen to Celia soon, and then we 
should have you both to care for, and you 
know aunt Hannah, willing as we are, we are 
not able to do that.” Hettie paused for 
breath. 

Then Hiram turned his little black eyes on 
her and asked contemptuously, “ And who is 
going to pay your fare on this pleasure excur- 
sion you are going to take? You certainly 
can’t expect me to do it. I think I’ve done all 
I’m called upon to do. I understood the bar- 
gain was that you were to work for your 
board here.” 

Hiram had never been so openly insolent 
before. If he had. Miss Grant would have 
left long ago, even though she had been 
obliged to walk the streets in search of work 
for her living. She turned her clear eyes upon 
him full, and said quietly with the strength of 
the grace the Father gave her from her com- 
munings with him : 


DAILY RATE. 


113 


“ Yes, Hiram, that was the bargain, and I 
certainly have worked. I consider that I have 
fully earned all that I have eaten, and the 
amount of shelter that has been given me. 
As for any further assistance, I think I have 
never yet asked it, and I hope I may never be 
obliged to do so. Celia has sent me money 
and a ticket, — and I shall not be obliged to 
ask any favors of any one.” 

“ Celia sent you money ! ” Kettie fairly 
screamed it. “ Where in the world did she get 
money ? ” 

“Yes, where did Celia get money?” asked 
Hiram, sharply. “ It seems to me there’s 
something pretty shady about this business. 
Miss Celia ’ll get into serious trouble which 
will bring no credit to her family, if she keeps 
on.” 

Aunt Hannah rose from her untasted supper, 
drew herself up to her full height and looked 
down upon Hiram Bartlett till he seemed to 
shrink beneath her glance. There comes a 
time when a strong sweet nature like Hannah 
Grant’s can be roused to such a pitch of right- 
eous indignation that it will tower above other 
smaller natures and make them cower and 
cringe in their smallness and meanness. She 
had reached one of those places in her life. 
Nettie, as she watched her, thought to herself 


114 


DAILY BA TEA' 


that aunt Hannah must have been almost 
handsome once when she was young. 

“ Hiram,” said aunt Hannah, and her voice 
was quite controlled and steady, “ don’t you 
ever dare to breathe such a thought as that 
again about that pure-souled girl. You know 
in your inmost soul that what you have said 
would be impossible. Some time, when you 
stand before God, you will be ashamed of 
those words, as you will be ashamed of a good 
many of your other words and actions.” That 
was all she said to him. She did not lose her 
temper, nor say anything which she did not 
feel she ought to say, or which she would have 
taken back afterward. Then she turned to 
Nettie and quietly said : 

“ Celia has had a little estate left her from her 
father’s great uncle Abner. She is now quite 
independent as regards money, and she wishes 
to have me with her as soon as possible, and I 
intend to go to-morrow evening, if I can get 
ready.” 

She turned from the room then and went 
upstairs, but when she got there, instead of 
going to work at packing, she turned the key 
in the lock and knelt down by her bed, to 
pray first for Hiram, and second that God 
might overrule anything that she had said 
amiss. 


A DAILY BATE:'> 


115 


Meantime below stairs there was astonish- 
ment and confusion. Celia as a poor shop 
girl, and Celia with money were two very dif- 
ferent people. Even Hiram felt that. He 
retired behind his paper till a suitable time 
had elapsed for his wife to talk out her anger, 
astonishment, and humiliation, and then he 
began to reflect that it would be a very con- 
venient thing to have the management of 
Celia’s money, even though it was not much, 
for he was just beginning business for himself 
and every little helped in the matter of cap- 
ital. 

‘‘ It would just serve you right, Hiram Bart- 
lett, if Celia should turn out to be rich,” said 
his wife, angrily. “ The way you have treated 
her and aunt Hannah ought to make you 
ashamed, but I don’t suppose it will. How 
what am I to do I should like to know ? 
Three children, and one a fretful baby, and all 
my housework to do all alone. If you had 
treated aunt Hannah nicely, she would have 
stayed anyway. Maybe Celia would have 
come here to live and taught the children. 
She is real good at teaching little children 
anything. I remember she used to be so pa- 
tient with the boys at home. It would be 
awfully convenient to have somebody around 
with money.” 


116 


A DAILY RATE. 


In the course of the evening, while aunt 
Hannah swiftly gathered her possessions in 
array preparatory to packing, Hettie knocked 
at her door. She wanted to ask a great many 
questions, and she wanted to argue with aunt 
Hannah and show her the inadvisability and 
impossibility of her thinking of such a thing 
as going to Philadelphia to live with Celia, 
when her plain duty was here with Hettie and 
her family. When she saw she was making 
no headway, she tried to work on her aunt’s 
strong sense* of duty, and finally cried, and 
told her she never thought she would be left 
by aunt Hannah in that way, with all those 
children and no help, that she always knew 
aunt Hannah cared more for Celia than for 
any of them, and that it was not fair when 
they had offered her a home and done every- 
thing for her, and she had come there with 
the understanding that she would stay several 
years anyway. It wasn’t fair to Hiram. 

When she had talked this way for some 
time, her aunt turned to her almost desper- 
ately. She did not want to say anything 
rash. But Hettie must be shown how incon- 
sistent she was. 

“Hettie,” said she, just as calmly as she had 
talked to Hiram, “you know that you and 
Hiram never wanted either me or Celia with 


DAILY bate:' 


117 


you. You know that you consider me in the 
way, and that I am only good to work. I 
don’t say anything against that, for that may 
be true, but you know that you grudge me my 
home here, and that you are giving out . to 
your friends that you are doing a great deal 
to care for me in my helpless old age, and 
that I am a burden. You know yourself 
whether that is quite fair, and whether I have 
not worked as hard as any woman could for 
my board and lodging. But that is not to the 
point. You have a perfect right to think so 
about me. It may be all true, and I cannot 
stop you in saying such things to outsiders, 
but 1 have a right to say whether I will be 
taken and disposed of as if I was a piece of 
goods, and cared for as if I was a baby. I am 
not quite so infirm yet but that I can earn my 
living where I shall be more welcome. I 
thank the Lord that a way has been opened 
for me to go where I am wanted, but I must 
honestly tell you, N’ettie, that I should have 
gone just the same if I had not known that 
you felt so, for I feel that my place is with 
Celia, if I can be with her. She is alone in 
the world. You have your husband and your 
children. She has nobody but me. I bear 
you no grudge, Nettie, and I think you will 
be happier with me away.” Then she went 


118 


DAILY rate:' 


Oil packing and N^ettie retreated to talk with 
her husband. 

The result was a proposition that they should 
coax Celia to come home and live with them, 
and l^ettie said a few nice things which she 
hoped would patch up aunt Hannah’s feelings, 
but aunt Hannah was firm, and would not 
even delay to write to Celia. She went dili- 
gently on with her preparations. 

Gradually they settled down to the in- 
evitable, and by the next noon had so far 
calmed down as to be able to ask some ques- 
tions about the more definite details. Aunt 
Hannah had started out on an expedition very 
early in the morning without telling them 
where she was going, or without seeming to 
remember that there was breakfast to be got- 
ten and cleared away. She seemed to be liv- 
ing by faith. She certainly ate nothing that 
morning. She visited a certain little house in 
a by-street where lived an old servant, Molly 
by name, who had declined the most earnest 
solicitations of Hettie to live with her at ex- 
ceedingly small pay, and preferred to earn her 
living by doing fine ironing. She also visited 
the station, the telegraph office, the bank, and 
the expressman’s office, and then went back to 
her packing again. Later in the afternoon, 
she went out again and made a few calls, on 


A DAILY rate:' 


110 


tli9 minister’s wife and the doctor’s wife and 
a few very dear friends, bidding them a quiet 
good-bye, for she wished to slip awa}^ without 
making any more talk than was necessary. 
But it was at the dinner-table that Celia’s 
whole plan was ferreted out by Nettie. 

“ Celia has bought a boarding-house ! ” ex- 
claimed Nettie. “ What an absurd idea ! 
What does she or you either know about 
keeping boarders ? You’ll both let them run 
right over you. You’ll get in debt the very 
first week. Why, aunt Hannah, you have no 
right to encourage Celia in such a scheme. 
She’s too young, anyway, to be away off there 
in a city without a guardian. She ought to 
be here. Hiram could manage her money and 
make it double itself in time, and if she really 
has as much as you say, she has plenty to live 
quite comfortably without doing anything. 
You ought to tell her so.” 

But aunt Hannah did not seem to be in- 
timidated by this. Nettie tried again. 

“ And then think how plebeian it will be ! It 
was bad enough to work in a store, but a 
boarding-house keeper, and for one who has 
money of her own. It is simply unheard-of. 
I shall be ashamed to death to have Mrs. 
Morgan know about it. I think I have had 
trouble enough without having to be ashamed 


120 


A DAILY RATE. 


of my family. Celia always did do queer 
things, anyway. Don’t you think it is very 
impractical, Hiram ? ” 

JS^ettie asked his opinion as if that would 
settle the matter for everybody concerned, 
and he answered in the same manner. 

“ I certainly do think it is the most wild and 
impossible scheme I ever heard of, and one 
Avhich ought not to be permitted. It will be 
the ruin of Celia’s property, and when that is 
all gone, and you and Celia are in trouble, I 
suppose I shall be called upon to help you out. 
Of course I shall do the best I can, but you 
must remember that I have not very much 
money to throw away on wild childish 
schemes.” He spoke with the air of a martyr, 
and aunt Hannah answered him cheerily. She 
had recovered her spirits since she had sent 
her telegram. 

“You needn’t worry, Hiram. I don’t be- 
lieve either Celia or I will ever be in need of 
your help. But if we are, I don’t think we 
shall trouble you. You know they have a 
good many charitable institutions in the City 
of Brotherly Love, and we shall surely be well 
cared for if the improbable happens.” Then 
aunt Hannah placed her nicely prepared little 
coals of fire in the hands of her two grand 
nephews and her grand niece, and went smil- 


A DAILY BATE. 


121 


ing upstairs. The coals were tiny paper par- 
cels each containing a bright five dollar gold 
piece. She had lain awake last night, worried 
about the sharp words she had felt obliged to 
speak, and the sentence Nettie had flung out 
about her leaving her without help, and she 
wanted to show that she bore no grudge for 
what they had said. Celia had sent her the 
money to spend as she thought best, and aunt 
Hannah knew her girl well enough to feel she 
would say this was a good way to spend it. 
Besides, she felt sure she could run a board- 
ing-house successfully in a financial way, as 
well as some others, if she had the chance, so 
she might by and by have more five dollar 
gold pieces to do with as she chose. She was 
beginning to be very happy, as she packed 
and strapped the last trunk, and smoothed her 
hair and tied on her grey bonnet and grey veil. 

At the last Hiram and Nettie behaved quite 
well. Those five dollar gold pieces had gone 
a long way toward making the bereavement 
of aunt Hannah’s departure felt. Hiram took 
her satchel down, and Nettie walked beside 
her carrying her umbrella and wheeling the 
baby, while Johnnie and Lily trotted on ahead. 
There was an eclat and importance attached\ 
to a sudden and first-class departure such as • 
aunt Hannah’s was turning out to be, which 


122 


DAILY rate:' 


could not well be carelessly neglected. They 
made an interesting procession down the 
street. More than one neighbor looked out 
of her window, and a few knew that Miss 
Hannah was going away. But they had said 
good-bye, and only turned their heads the 
other way to wipe away a tear of regret, or 
sigh perhaps that their good friend was not to 
be near any more with her cheery face and her 
words of comfort. When it was observed by 
one or two that Molly Poppleton had also 
passed down the street accompanied by an old 
colored man wheeling her ancient trunk on a 
wheelbarrow, and carrying a good-sized bun- 
dle, several of the good women came to their 
gates to look down the street, and "wait till 
Hettie returned to ask what it all meant. 
And JSTettie enjoyed a triumphal march back 
to her home. “ Yes, she's gone, we shall miss 
her very much.” Her nose was red with be- 
ing rubbed and her eyes had a suspicious red- 
ness about them. “ Ho, Celia isn’t ill, but she 
couldn’t stand it any longer without aunt 
Hannah. You know Celia has had a fortune 
left her? Oh yes, she’ll have plenty now. 
Yes, aunt Hannah has to go and be her chap- 
eron. I suppose she’ll quite come out in so- 
ciety now she has money enough to do about 
as she pleases. Oh yes, she’s very generous, 


A DAILY hate:' 


123 


slie always was. She sent the children each 
handsome presents in gold. Yes, aunt Hannah 
has taken old Molly for a maid. She’ll be 
obliged to have a maid there, you know. 
Funny, isn’t it, that a woman who knows how 
to work should need a maid ? I shouldn’t 
like it myself, but then one has to do as other 
people do.” Then Hettie went home and got 
supper and washed up her dishes and put her 
three babies to bed, and sat down wearily and 
wished for aunt Hannah. 

But aunt Hannah sat serenely in the sleeper, 
waiting for her berth to be made up, and 
thinking to herself that she also, like Jehoia- 
chin, had had her head lifted up out of prison. 


CHAPTEE X. 


It was perhaps one of the happiest nights 
that aunt Hannah ever spent. She lay down 
in her bed in the sleeper and slept like a little 
child for a time, for she was as tired as a baby 
after her day and 'night of excitement, but in 
the early dawn she awoke and lay there listen- 
ing to the regular cadence of the moving train. 
It was music to her. Her life had for years 
been a monotonous one, and every detail of 
the journey was a delight to her. The turn- 
ing wheels seemed to sing a tune to her, “How 
hath mine head been lifted up above mine ene- 
mies round about me.” She tried to turn that 
thought out of her mind as soon as she dis- 
covered its significance, for she did not like to 
think that even in her heart had hid a feeling 
that Hiram and Xettie were her enemies, but 
somehow the rejoicing stayed anyway. 

She began to look forward to the morning 
and the day that was to follow, the opening 
of her new life. What would it hold of good 
or of ill for her? Would there be trials? 
Yes, but there had been trials before. She 
would have “ his strength to bear them, with 
124 


A DAILY RATE. 


125 


his might her feet could be shod. She could 
find her resting-places in the promises of her 
God,” as she had done before. And it was 
such delightful work before her, a prospect of 
making over a home and making it pleasant. 
Aunt Hannah took rest, too, in the thought of 
experienced Molly Poppleton now reposing in 
the berth above her. She was going on a 
mission at last. How good God had been to 
her ! He had tried her for a little while, but 
he was bringing her out into a large place. 
She could see that, even though she could not 
know the trials that were before her. Of 
course there were trials, she expected that, 
earth was full of them ; but she did not need 
to carry them ; Christ had borne them all for 
her long ago. She would trust and he would 
bring her safely through as he had done be- 
fore and was doing now. Then her thoughts 
dwelt in sweet reflection upon her Saviour 
whom she loved so much, and she communed 
with him and promised to try to help every 
person who came within that house that she 
was to make pleasant for him and his chil- 
dren, and to try to live for him before them 
every day. And that crowded, rushing car 
became a holy place, because God met her 
there and blessed her. 

The train reached the Broad Street station 


12G 


DAILY BATE.' 


at a very early hour. Celia was glad of that, 
for it gave her plenty of time to meet her 
aunt and go with her back to the house, with- 
out being late at the store. She had not had 
time to reflect yet as to whether she would 
give up her position. She was hardly ready 
to do so. It seemed to her that perhaps she 
might do more good if she retained it for the 
present, at least until she found some one else 
who needed it, and to whom she could give it 
with profit, both to that person and to her 
employers who had been very kind to her. 
Besides, she wished not to appear before the 
boarders yet as an active agent in the reforms 
of the house. 

At exactly half past five she arrived at the 
Broad Street station. It was an early hour 
for her to be out alone, and it was still dark 
save for the electric lights which glared every- 
where as if trying to keep off the day. But 
the train would come in at five minutes to six, 
and Celia had been too eager and too happy 
to sleep longer, so she paced up and down in 
the ladies’ room until the train was almost 
due, watching the people come and go and 
wondering about them all as she was wont to 
do. As the time drew near for the train she 
went out and stood behind the gates watching 
the trains moving back and forth. She began 


DAILY RATE." 


127 


to say to herself, “ Oh, what if she should not 
come? What if something has happened to 
the train ? Or what if Nettie and Hiram 
have persuaded her at the last minute not to 
come ? Or what if she missed her train ? 
But no, she would have telegraphed. ‘ Charge 
not thyself,’ — dear me ! How much Ido that. 
I must stop worrying ahead about everything. 
Aunt Hannah must have seen that fault in 
me very glaringly. I never realized how much 
I do it.” And then the train Avhistled and 
rolled into the station, and the passengers be- 
gan to alight, and stream into the gates, look- 
ing sleepy and cold. Celia stood there in the 
dim greyness of the cold, foggy morning and 
began to tremble with the excitement and joy 
of watching for aunt Hannah. Suddenly she 
saw the ample form of Molly Poppleton loom 
up behind the gilt-buttoned porter and she 
caught a glimpse of a little grey bonnet just 
behind and knew that aunt Hannah was come. 

She took them home in the street-car, and 
then escorted them up to her little third story 
back room. She had risen early and put it in 
order. Molly looked around in disdain. 

“Well, Miss Celia, you don’t have things as 
fine in the city as I expected,” she said. “ The 
idea of their putting you up in such a room as 
this ! Why, Miss Celia, it ain’t as good as the 


128 


A DAILY RATEI^ 


kitchen chamber at Cloverdale. I always 
heard a city was a dreadful place to live, but 
I never thought it was this bad. The wonder 
to me is anybody that don’t have to, stays in 
’em. But we’ll have it clean pretty soon any- 
way, don’t you worry.” And she stalked to 
the window and surveyed the narrow court 
below, where she surmised she would be 
obliged to dry her clothes. She sniffed to 
herself, but Celia could see her practical eye 
already planning how she would change the 
position of the ash bucket and the garbage 
pail. She gave a sigh of relief at the thought 
of Molly Poppleton’s ability, and turned to 
aunt Hannah, fairly smothering her in kisses. 
Then she put a hand on each soft, loved cheek, 
held her off at arm’s length and looked into 
|ier face. 

‘‘ Kow, you dear, good auntie, tell me just 
what you think of me ? Am I a wild, im- 
practical girl, full of crazy schemes ? Tell me 
right ‘away.” 

‘‘Well,” said aunt Hannah, a queer little 
twinkle in her eyes, “that’s what Hiram 
thinks.” 

“ Oh, he does, does he ? Well, I don’t really 
suppose it will matter much, do you ? But I 
mustn’t stop now to talk. I have to be at that 
store in an hour, and it takes half of that to 


DAILY RATEA' 


129 


get there. We must talk business. Do you 
think you can get along to-day by yourself, 
with Molly? That is, I mean without my 
worthy advice and assistance ? Of course I’ll 
be home at half-past six, and I’ll give in my 
resignation there if you think best, but I hardly 
like to do it quite so soon after Mrs. Green 
was so kind about getting it for me. It 
doesn’t seem quite fair to the firm either to 
stop now, after they have had all the trouble 
of teaching me. Mrs. Morris is to leave on 
the noon train. She is ready, except that her 
faith hasn’t been quite equal to believing that 
you were really coming to take her place. 
She told the boarders this morning that she 
was going away for her health, and that she 
had secured a woman to take her place for a 
while. She guessed they would like it just as 
well. She wasn’t sure when she should re- 
turn. The German promptly gave notice that 
he should leave, and I am glad of it. Some 
of the others said that if things didn’t go bet- 
ter than they had been doing for a week they 
would have to follow his example, but I think 
they will change their minds when they SQe 
the difference. I amused myself going to 
market last evening. I bought a great big 
roast, one of the finest cuts, and some fine po- 
tatoes and apples and yeast and flour. I know 


130 


DAILY BATEA^ 


Mrs. Morris’ flour isn’t good, for she can’t 
make anything out of it fit to eat. I also got 
some spinach and celery and sweet potatoes, 
canned tomatoes and a few other things. I 
want to have a regular treat the first night re- 
gardless of the cost. Y ou can figure things down 
afterward, but I thought we’d have enough 
for once to make up for thodays of starvation. 
That Maggie, down in the kitchen, is a slouch 
and a bear. She gets in a towering rage when- 
ever you go near her. I have not said any- 
thing about her, except to ask what contract 
Mrs. Morris had with her. I find it is on a 
day to day basis, so you can do as you please. 
If you and Molly want her, and can get the 
right kind of help out of her, keep her. If 
not, get rid of her and we’ll find a second girl 
who knows how to do things right. Now, 
shall we go down and see Mrs. Morris? And 
are you sure you are equal to all this, and not 
too tired to begin to-day ? I suppose Mrs. 
Morris would wait till you are rested, if you 
want her to.” 

But aunt Hannah smiled and said no, she 
was eager to begin. Then she took off her 
bonnet and smoothed her grey hair and went 
down. 

Mrs. Morris had on the inevitable old calico 
wrapper. Celia wondered if she meant to 


DAILY RATEA' 


131 


travel in it. Her hair had evidently not been 
combed that morning, only twisted in a knot. 
She seemed embarrassed by aunt Hannah in 
her trim grey traveling dress, and hardly knew 
on what footing to meet her. 

‘‘For the land sake!” she exclaimed, wip- 
ing her hands, from custom perhaps, on the side 
of her wrapper before shaking hands. “ So 
you’ve come 1 And you’re really willing to 
undertake it, and think you can succeed ? I’m 
afraid you’ll be disappointed. It’s a hard life ! 
You look too good for such a life. They’re 
an awful torment, boarders are ! Me heart 
has just been broke time an’ again with the 
troubles I’ve been through with them. I’ll 
show you all around, and if you feel you can’t 
do it, yet, I shouldn’t feel you was bound in 
any way to stick to your bargain. Miss Mur- 
ray she seemed to be so sure, but I wouldn’t 
want you to be took at no disadvantage. You 
see I am afraid, if I get away, I shan’t want to 
come back again, and I don’t want to go off 
and feel I left you dissatisfied.” 

They went down to breakfast soon, and 
Celia saw her aunt seated before the uninvit- 
ing meal. She felt sorry for her, and yet she 
thought she would enjoy the meal with the 
prospect of the one she would give the board- 
ers later in the day. But she was scarcely 


132 


A DAILY BATE. 


prepared for the look of horror that gradually 
overspread the good woman’s face, as she 
tasted dish after dish and found them alike 
unpalatable. There was oatmeal that morn- 
ing. It was thick and lumpy, and only half 
cooked. Besides the salt had been forgotten. 
There was pork and greasy fried potatoes, but 
they were both cold, and unseasoned. The 
coffee was weak and muddy. Celia swallowed 
a few bites. She felt that she could go hungry 
for one day. Then she said a soft good-bye to 
aunt Hannah, squeezing her hand under her 
napkin so the boarders would not see and 
slipped away. 

Aunt Hannah finished all she cared to of 
her meal and went back to Mrs. Morris. 
Molly Poppleton sat down to her breakfast in 
undisguised disgust. Nothing but the pros- 
pect of the power that was to be hers held her 
tongue from expressing her mind on the sub- 
ject of good food decently cooked. She did 
not even pretend to eat much, and she looked 
at the slatternly form of Maggie as she 
lounged in to gather some plates, with ani- 
mosity in her eye. She spent most of her time 
in the dining-room counting the fly specks and 
finger marks on the wall and windows. She 
made up her mind that she would get time for 
those windows somehow before dinner, if pos- 


DAILY BATE.'^ 133 

sible. If not, they should be done before an- 
other dawn of light and breakfast anyway. 

Meantime Mrs. Morris was showing aunt 
Hannah the house. This room brought so 
much a week, and that one only so much, and 
so on, and at each room she had a tale to tell 
of its various inmates during the years she 
had kept a boarding-house. Aunt Hannah 
listened quietly, mentally making notes of 
what she would and would not do. She saw, 
without seeming to do so, the worn furniture, 
the need of a patch on a carpet, or a turning 
of furniture to hide it, the need- of a ward- 
robe, or bureau in some cases. She set down 
in her mind the number of window shades 
torn, or worn out or lacking, and thought how 
much some cheap muslin curtains would im- 
prove things. She felt like a rich fairy, as she 
went from room to room seeing its need, and 
knowing that she could wave a wand and 
chano-e it all. Sometimes the bareness or the 
attempt at decoration by the boarder was piti- 
ful. She paused a moment before a picture of 
a quiet sweet-faced woman, in a dark velvet 
frame on Harry Knowles’ bureau, and won- 
dered who she was, and if the young man 
whom Mrs. Morris said roomed there was 
worth V of a mother with such a face as that. 
Then she went at Mrs. Morris’ request with 


134 


A DAILY rate:' 


her to her room and sat there during an hour 
of conversation, in which Mrs. Morris, with 
many sighs and tears, detailed her entire life 
and troubles for her benefit. Aunt Hannah’s 
quiet, respectful attention and sympathy led 
her on until she had unburdened all her heart. 
Then was the Christian woman’s opportunity, 
and she spoke the word in season to the other 
woman, that word which cannot fail to bear 
fruit in due time. Mrs. Morris, with her 
empty life and joyless spirit, while she received 
the words with tears and some gratitude, but 
gave no outward sign that they had more than 
touched the surface of her life, yet remem- 
bered what had been said to her, and as she 
sat in the train that afternoon, speeding far 
away from the scene of her disappointments 
and disheartening, her fare paid by one Chris- 
tian, her house taken and managed by another 
whom she saw .must be a true saint, pondered 
all these things in her heart. 

Mrs. Morris was gone, and aunt Hannah 
descended to the kitchen, bidding the impa- 
tient Molly Poppleton wait until she called 
her. 

Just before Mrs. Morris’ departure, she had 
informed the sullen-looking Maggie that Miss 
Grant was the woman who was to take her 
place. Maggie had responded with a signifi- 


DAILY RATEy 


135 


cant look, which did not promise much for 
taking the new mistress into her favor. She 
met Miss Grant in the middle of the dining- 
room during her progress to the kitchen. Her 
hair was frowsy, her dress soiled and torn, and 
her arms akimbo. Altogether she would have 
furnished a formidable encounter to a woman 
who was not used to managing servants and 
holding the reins of her household well in her 
own hands. 

•‘I just came to see what you wanted fer 
dinner,’’ she announced. “ There’s some things 
come from a new place where we never deal. 
I thought I’d let you know.” 

Aunt Hannah thought a minute. Then she 
said : 

“ Yes, Maggie, I’ll be out in the kitchen 
soon to attend to dinner, but meantime it is 
only one o’clock and there is time enough to 
get this room in order first. I think you 
would better wash those windows.” 

Maggie stood aghast. 

And what’s the matter with this room, I’d 
like to know ? ” she said in a loud, belligerent 
tone. ‘‘ It’s just the same as it always is, and 
what’s good enough fer Mis’ Morris ought to 
be good enough fer you. Indeed I’ll wash 
no windows to-day. I’ve got me afternoon’s 
work all planned out. This room’ll be swep’ 


136 


DAILY RATE.^' 


when I sets the table fer dinner, an^ that’s all 
it’ll get to-day. And you needn’t trouble your 
self about cornin’ in the kitchen. I never likes 
to have the missus in the kitchen, it flusters 
me. I know me business and I ’tend to it, 
and I likes to have them as I live with attend 
to theirs. If you’ve got any orders, give ’em, 
and I’ll get dinner on time, you needn’t worry 
about that.” 

Maggie had backed up against the kitchen 
door, her arms still akimbo, and stood as if to 
defend the fortress of her dominion. 

Aunt Hannah waited till she had drawn 
down a crooked shade and rolled it straight 
again, pinning the torn edge, before she an- 
swered. Then she turned and calmly faced 
the irate Maggie. 

“ I always manage my own kitchen, Mag- 
gie,” she said, in a quiet voice, “and I intend 
to do so still. I want this dining-room put in 
order first, before anything else is attended to. 
Get some cloths and hot water right away, 
please.” 

There was a dignity about aunt Hannah 
that was neAV in Maggie’s experience. She 
had been accustomed to intimidate Mrs. Morris 
by such conversation as she had just used, and 
she supposed she could do the same by her 
new mistress. She never- expected to have it 


DAILY BATEI^ ■ ' 137 

treated with such calm indifference. She was 
forced to her last resort. 

“ I can’t stay in a house where things are 
managed that way. No lady goes into the 
kitchen. I know me business, and I don’t 
like to be interfered with. If you ain’t suited 
with me doing as I think best, I can find 
plenty of places.” 

‘‘ Oh, certainly, if you prefer,” said aunt 
Hannah, pulling down the other shade and 
fixing it neatly. 

‘‘Well, if I do. I’ll go right away, and then 
what’ll you do ? ” burst out the astonished 
Maggie. “There’s all them boarders got to 
have their dinner. You can’t fool with board- 
ers, you know. They’ll all leave you.” 

“ I shall do very Avell,” answered aunt 
Hannah. “I brought one of my home serv- 
ants with me, and I can get others very 
easily. If you choose to stay and do as I say 
I would like to have those windows washed at 
once, otherwise you may go.” 

Poor Maggie ! She Avas crestfallen. This 
Avas new treatment. The mistresses she Avas 
used to had to cater to the desires of their 
servants. She did a great deal of Avork, and 
she preferred to do it her Avay. But aunt 
Hannah Avas firm. Molly at that moment, 
too impatient to begin to be able to Avait any 


138 


A DAILY BATE.’’ 


longer, put her head in at the door and asked 
if Miss Hannah was ready for her. She eyed 
the crestfallen Maggie with the superiority 
of a conqueror. That was enough. Maggie 
tossed her head and declared she would not 
do another stroke of work in that house, and 
demanded back pay. Miss Hannah settled up 
with her, and she departed, leaving Molly 
monarch of the kitchen and scornfully survey- 
ing her new realm. 


CHAPTEE XI. 


It’s just a pigpen ! That’s what it is ! ” 
declared Molly Poppleton, holding up her am- 
ple calico skirts and clean gingham apron in 
a gingerly way. ‘‘ 1 don’t know where to be- 
gin. I didn’t suppose a human being could 
be so dirty I ” Then she plunged into work. 
The range got such a cleaning as it had not 
had in years. The ashes were cleaned out, 
and the soot removed from all its little doors 
and traps and openings. Molly was not used 
to a city range with all its numerous appli- 
ances, but she had very keen common sense 
and she used it. She knew dirt and ashes 
could not help a fire to burn, so she re- 
moved them. While she was about it, she 
gave it a good washing inside and out, for she 
found the oven encrusted with burned sugar 
and juice of some sort, and the top was covered 
with grease. Then, in the most scientific 
manner, she started a fire, and before very 
long it was glowing, and the water in the old 
tank was steaming hot. 

It appeared there really was no time for 
those dining-room windows that day, after all. 

" 139 


140 


A DAILY RATE.'' 


With skirts tucked together and sleeves rolled 
high Molly generously used the hot water and 
soap in the kitchen. She unceremoniously 
took the old ragged cloths which must have 
been Maggie’s wiping towels for scrubbing 
rags, trusting to Miss Hannah’s sense of the 
fitness of things to provide others in some 
way. The kitchen table and shelves and win- 
dows and paint and sink were scrubbed, and 
even the floor, and then Molly stood back and 
surveyed the room now pervaded with a damp 
atmosphere redolent of soap. 

“ There ! I guess it’ll do fer over night, and 
the fust chance I get I’ll give it a good clean- 
ing. I never saw the like in my life ! How 
them poor boarders stood it eating out of a 
dirty hole like this I don’t see. How, what’s 
to do ? That sink was a caution ! The water 
and dust was all in a mess underneath and the 
top was slimy ! I wonder what that creature 
that called herself Maggie thought she was 
made for.” 

Meanwhile Miss Hannah had gone to her 
trunk and arrayed herself in an old grey ging- 
ham and a dark apron that enveloped her 
completely. She had discovered that they 
must begin at the very foundation before they 
could hope to do anything toward getting 
dinner. She investigated Celia’s stores and 


DAILY RATE.' 


141 


found they were ample for present needs. 
Celia’s training had not been for nothing. 
She knew by intuition that her aunt and 
Molly would enquire for soap and yeast and 
baking powder among the first things. She 
had thought of the little things that might 
not be in stock in Mrs. Morris’ kitchen and 
had a supply for the present. The stores in 
the pantry were not very full. There was a 
plate with a pile of sour white-looking pan- 
cakes, another with some lumpy oatmeal, a few 
boiled potatoes, a bowl of watery soup and two 
or three ends of baker’s loaves. Miss Hannah 
applied her nose to one of these and then laid 
it down again and said, “ Bah ! ” 

After looking at the array a few minutes, 
she gathered them all into a pan and dumped 
them into the garbage pail. A heavy, lifeless 
pie on a higher shelf also met the same fate. 
Then she got the dish pan and some clean hot 
water and washed a few dishes for her im- 
mediate use. Having done this she prepared 
to set some bread. It was late in the day, but 
it would not take long, and it could rise while 
she was doing other things and be baked after 
the dinner was cooked. Then she could hurry 
up part of it by making it into pulled rolls so 
that they could be used for dinner. The 
bread done she started on a searching expedi- 


142 


A DAILY RATE. 


tion for bread cloths and clean rags. She 
could not work without tools. In one of her 
trunks was a roll of old rags and linen ; with 
Molly’s help she unstrapped the trunk and 
searched it out. It was a great satisfaction to 
have that bread covered with a clean cloth 
and feel that so much of her work was going 
on right. She decided that the dishes must 
all be washed. She and Molly both worked 
at this, Molly washing off the shelves while 
she wiped the dishes. By that time it was 
four o’clock. 

“It’s high time we was seeing about the 
dinner,” said Molly, as she thumped the last 
pile of plates upon the clean shelf. “ What 
are you going to do for a tablecloth ? That 
one in there ain’t fit, an’ there ain’t a clean 
one about the drawer anywhere. There’s a pile 
of dirty ones behind the door in the back stair- 
way. I reckon I’ll have to wash one. As for 
napkins I should suppose they didn’t use ’em. 
I can’t find any.” 

Miss Hannah went on another hunt, and 
discovered more soiled tablecloths and a stack 
of soiled napkins. There was nothing for it 
but to wash some. Molly already had the 
washtub going and was working as if her life 
depended upon it. Well for Miss Hannah’s 
plans and Celia’s hopes that Molly Avas equal 


‘.4 DAILY rate:'' 


143 


to emergencies, nay delighted in them, and 
that she was a swift worker. By the time 
Miss Hannah had the tablecloth and dishes 
off the table and the dining-room swept and 
dusted that linen Avas swinging in a brisk 
breeze in the back yard and the irons were 
growing hot on the range. 

“ Five o’clock and the table not set yet ! ” 
commented Molly. She was working on time 
and the pleasure of the race depended upon 
her getting done before Miss Celia should ar- 
rive, and being able to ring that dinner bell 
exactly on time. “Well, I reckon we’ll get 
through somehow. You can’t turn a pigpen 
into a parlor in one day, you know. I declare. 
Miss Hannah, it Avas a pity to turn that girl 
loose on the community. We ought to have 
kept her by main force and taught her how to 
scrub, before we let her go. The things that 
Avasn’t too filthy dirty to be burned or rusted 
is burned and rusted, and the things that had 
anything about them to get lost and broken 
has got that the matter with them. I reckon 
Ave’ll have a feAV things to buy ’fore Ave get 
fixed out for comfort.” 

But Molly Avaa Avorking swiftly all the Avhile 
she talked. She had filled the little salts and 
peppers, and rubbed up the knives. The care- 
ful Celia had not forgotten bath brick nor 


144 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


silver polish, though there was very little that 
had any pretension to silver to clean. The 
dishes and table appointments were of the 
plainest. Many would have said it was im- 
possible to make any dilference in that table 
without spending a lot of money. Miss Han- 
nah did not think so. She. knew the subtle 
dilference between order and disorder, and 
the startling contrast between cleanliness and 
dirt. Cleanliness was next to godliness and 
she was practicing that to-day. The godliness 
she hoped would follow hard after. While 
she pulled the little cushions of responsive 
velvety dough for the rolls, she prayed a rich 
blessing on that first meal in the house under 
her care. Then she let her mind wander for 
a moment to the home she had left which had 
been no more of a home to her than this was 
yet to its inmates. She wondered how they 
were getting on, and if the baby was well. 
The only drawback to the joj^ of leaving 
Nettie’s had been the baby. Aunt Hannah 
could not help loving babies, and enjoying 
the clinging of their soft dimpling arms about 
her neck and their apple blossom breath upon 
her cheek. The babies always loved aunt 
Hannah. It was only after they grew older 
and began to imitate the grown-up people that 
they began to be saucy, impertinent, and um 


DAILY RATE.''' 


145 


loving. Even then, Johnnie and Lily had al- 
ways come to aunt Hannah with a burn or 
a bump to be comforted, for somehow her 
motherly arms knew just how best to gather 
in the troubled little one and comfort it. But 
aunt Hannah had no time to think of duties 
past, and troubles. She gave the last little 
jerk to the puffy roll and tucked it in the pan 
to rise for the last time, and then hastened in 
to set that table. Molly had laid the crisp 
tablecloth which she had literally forced to 
dry quickly with her hot irons, on the table 
and was ironing away for dear life at the nap- 
kins. Molly and aunt Hannah had high ideals, 
brought from comfortable private homes, and 
they wished this house they had come to take 
care of to be a home in the best sense of the 
word. They worked faster now, for the clock 
was warning them that it was getting late. 
The roast beef well seared in the most scien- 
tific way was roasting away in the oven with 
a good supply of sweet and Irish potatoes on 
the grate below, grouped about a huge baked 
apple dumpling which Molly had hastily con- 
cocted, and Molly was straining the spinach 
and subjecting it to a rubbing through the 
colander, after which it went back on the 
stove to keep hot before its butter and last 
peppering were applied. She looked doubt- 


146 


DAILY RATE. 


fully at the water the spinach was cooked in 
and then with a daring glance at the clock 
rushed about to carry out another resolution, 
calling to Miss Hannah : 

“You ken put on the soup plates ef your a 
mine to. I’ve found I can make a taste of 
spinach soup with the water and some milk 
and flour and butter. It’ll make things seem 
nicer I guess for the first night, and don’t take 
a minute. That’ll give the rolls time to get 
a little browner before they’re needed, you 
know.” Then she began to sing at the top of 
her voice : 


“ Am I a soldier of the cross, — ” 

Molly Popple ton always sang at the top of 
her lungs when she had some important work 
to do or was in an unusual hurry with her 
work. It made her very happy to have a 
good deal of work, and hard work at that. 

Celia, opening the front door with her latch- 
key just then, heard the singing and rejoiced. 
There was the old Molly. She had not be- 
come discouraged and gone home, but was at 
work with heart and voice as in their old 
kitchen at home. She ran out into the din- 
ing-room to see how things were getting on 
before she went upstairs. But she stopped in 
the doorway astounded. Even her highest 


A DAILY EATE.^^ 


147 


hopes had not realized the change there would 
be. What made it ? AYas it the shining table- 
cloth, or the glistening glasses, or the knives 
and forks laid straight, or what? A nice 
square cake of butter was in each butter-plate 
at the ends of the table. The salts were 
smoothed off and stamped with the bottom of 
the salt-cellars. The plates were in a pile at 
one end of the table instead of being upside 
down on the napkins at each place. AVhere 
were the plates of crackers and gingersnaps 
which had not failed to appear at every din- 
ner since she had been boarding there ? Where 
was the inevitable dish of prunes ? Gone, and 
in its place a dish of translucent cranberry 
jelly which Molly had found time somehow to 
fix. It was all very wonderful. Even the gas 
had a clean globe on it. Celia wondered that 
so much had been accomplished in one short 
afternoon. She heard the door being opened 
from the outside and hurried into the kitchen, 
closing the dining-room door behind her first. 
This must burst upon them all at once when 
they entered the dining-room. 

Aunt Hannah was taking the brown balls 
from the roll pan and piling them on a plate, 
when she went into the kitchen, and she 
greeted her with : 

“Celia, go upstairs and wash your hands 


143 


A DAILY RATE. 


and then come down and fix the celery. Molly 
and I haven’t a second to do it, and it is time 
to ring that bell in five minutes. Have the 
boarders come yet ? ” 

Celia rushed away and was soon back, bear- 
ing aunt Hannah’s white apron and a brush 
to smooth her hair that she might not be de- 
layed from coming to dinner on account of her 
appearance, and at last the dinner ivas ready 
and it was time to ring the bell. She put the 
two glasses of celery on the table, and hand- 
ing Molly the bell went into the parlor. She 
did not wish anybody yet to know she had a 
right in the kitchen. She was just the ribbon 
girl from Dobson and Co.’s. There were things 
she wanted to accomplish first which could 
better be done that way, she thought. 

The bell rang and the boarders trooped 
down. The little old lady from upstairs was 
first and interrupted the advance of the others, 
for a moment. She walked into the dining- 
room followed by Miss Burns. Both stopped 
blinking in the doorway and staring around, 
before they slowly walked in a dazed way to 
their respective places. The two girls from 
the three-cent store became embarrassed, and 
stood back awkwardly against the wall star- 
ing undisguisedly. The three young men 
came after, Harry Knowles ahead. 


DAILY BATE.'' 


149 


He drew a long whistle, and turning on his 
heel, started back into the hall again. “ Whew ! 
this is great ! ” he said as he went. I’m go- 
ing to wash my hands and comb my hair. I 
don’t fit in there.” 

Aunt Hannah with her grey hair and placid 
face and grey dress with its white apron pre- 
sided well over that table. The dishes might 
be thick and the tablecloth coarse, but no 
dinner on any rich man’s table was ever 
cooked or served better, nor more thoroughly 
enjoyed. After they were seated Miss Burns 
began with her nervous little giggle ; 

“ Oh really, now, this is simply, — simply — 
simply fine., don’t you know. This is quite a 
change, isn’t it, dear ? ” and she looked across 
the table at Celia who was passing celery 
and handing soup plates as aunt Hannah la- 
dled out the pale green tempting soup. Her 
guests ate of it in wonder. They were not 
acquainted with puree of spinach. They won- 
dered how it got colored, and what it was 
anyway, and the most of them ate every drop 
in their plates, some of them tilting the plates 
to accomplish it. The three-cent store girls 
and the university student asked for more 
and got it, and then Molly, her sleeves rolled 
decorously down and a white apron over her 
dark one, took out the soup and brought in 


150 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


the platter with that great brown perfectly 
cooked roast, and brought potatoes and spin- 
ach and hot plates, while aunt Hannah with 
experienced hand and keen knife, sharpened 
by herself, cut great juicy pink slices in gen- 
erous plenty and filled the plates. 

They were a rather silent table that first 
night. They were embarrassed to a degree 
by their surroundings which were so familiar 
and yet so unfamiliar. And then the dinner 
was absorbing. It absorbed their thoughts 
and they absorbed it. 

When it came time for the dessert they sat 
back satisfied, and feeling that perhaps it were 
as well that the inevitable pie, which they al- 
ways had for dessert, did not come to spoil 
this ideal repast. But they forgot such feel- 
ings when that great pudding was brought in, 
its crust browned to a nicety on the top, and 
light as feathers when it was cut, its luscious 
quarters of amber apples in the bottom, and a 
dressing of some sweet transparent syrup with 
just a dash of cinnamon. 

“ I tell you what ! ” said Harry Knowles, 
leaning back in his chair to fold his napkin 
and talking in an aside to Celia, “ that was 
the best dinner I have tasted since I left home. 
I feel as if I had been invited out, don’t you ? 
I don’t know what it means, do you ? She 


A DAILY RATE,''' 


151 


certainly can’t keep it up. I suppose she’s 
just standing treat for the first night, but I 
declare, if I could have meals like that, I’m 
not sure but I might be a different kind of a 
fellow and amount to something. How’s our 
lamp getting on ? I thought of a way to fix 
the spring in that sofa the other night. I be- 
lieve I’ll stay in and try it to-night.” 

Aunt Hannah, as they were leaving the 
table, apologized for not having put the rooms 
in order that day. She had only been in 
power, she said, since one o’clock, and there had 
not been time to do everything. She hoped 
to have things in better shape very soon if 
they would all be patient. Then the boarders 
went into the parlor to whisper with one an- 
other about that good dinner, and Celia slipped 
unseen out to the kitchen to exult and to help. 


CHAPTEE XIL 


Out in the street, not far from that board- 
ing-house, two young men met. “How are 
you, Horace ? Glad to see you, old fellow ! 
You look as thin as a rail. What do they feed 
you on down in that miserable hole where you 
hide yourself ? I say, Horace, you ought to 
have either a new boarding-place or a wife.” 

The other man laughed. “ I’m hunting one,” 
he said, “ that is, a new boarding-house, not a 
wife.” 

“ Well, you may find the one while in search 
of the other, you know. They always used to 
say, when we were children, that if you lost a 
thing you never could find it till you lost 
something else and went to hunting that. 
How you haven’t exactly lost a wife, you 
know, because you never had one. So that’s 
just as bad, but maybe you’ 11 find her. How- 
ever, I fear that any one you’d find in hunt- 
ing a boarding-house Avouldn’t be worth her 
salt. That’s my experience. Say, old fellow, 
why don’t you come up our way and live ? It 
isn’t much further, and you are a good walker. 
You could walk to that blessed church of 
152 


A DAILY RATE!' 


153 


yours, if you still hold to your puritanical 
ideas about not riding on the trolley on Sun- 
day. Now there’s the place Royce boards ; 
that would be first-rate, and I happen to know 
there’s a vacant room there now, second story 
front, fine sunny room, all conveniences and 
splendid board.” 

“ But I can’t afford second story fronts, 
Roger ; my salary has mostly to be paid by 
myself yet. You know we are building and 
the church is just struggling to live. It is all 
made up of poor people.” 

“Well, what in the world did you go down 
there for ? You might have had a church in 
Germantown if you would have taken it, and 
you also had a chance out in West Philadel- 
phia I heard. Why, you’ve friends enough to 
have got you hearings in several big churches 
down in the heart of the city where they pay 
big salaries. I’m sure I don’t see any virtue 
in your hiding your light under a bushel. For 
my part, I think you are as good, if not better, 
than any preacher I’ve heard in the city, if 
you only would consent to let go of a few 
high and impossible views you have about 
social equality. However, I suppose that’s 
neither here nor there. You’re here and the 
churches are there, and so it will continue to 
be, I presume, in spite of all I can say, and 


154 


DAILY RATE. 


there’ll be nothing for me but to tend you in 
your last sickness and pay the funeral expenses, 
if you go on at this rate. I must see what I 
can do about getting our church to help that 
mission of yours, if you persist in your folly.” 

“ I wish you would, Eoger, for they need 
help, and a church in this neighborhood is 
much more needed than in the quarters you 
have mentioned, where there is a church of 
some sort every two blocks almost. But I 
must go on, for I have a meeting this evening, 
and I want to go to one more place before I 
go to church.” 

They parted, the young man Eoger wishing 
the other would reconsider, and come higher 
up in town to board, and thus be near his 
friends. Then Horace Stafford went on his 
way, and having consulted a list of addresses 
in his notebook, in a moment more paused at 
a door and rang a bell and the door was opened 
by Celia. 

How Celia was very happy over the success- 
ful dinner. She had lingered about the halls 
catching words that the boarders had dropped, 
and she knew that they were intensely pleased 
and surprised. When she was happy or excited 
a clear red color came into her cheeks and a 
brightness into her deep, grey-blue eyes which 
made her very beautiful. She was not always 


A DAILY BATEA'^ 


155 


beautiful, although she was always pleasant to 
look at : certain conditions, however, had the 
power of making this charm bloom into beauty. 
To-night the color and the shine were there, 
and she seemed a charming picture to the 
young man who had spent the afternoon in 
calling at boarding-houses, and had begun to 
know just what to expect to see when the 
door opened. He was agreeably surprised, 
therefore, as he stepped into the hall and 
waited while Celia called aunt Hannah, for he 
had said he wanted to see Mrs. Morris, having 
been directed there for board. He glanced 
into the parlor and sighed. It was the same 
grade of parlor he had grovvn to expect, a 
dreary enough place, but he did not know 
what was the matter with it, and as he should 
have to spend very little time in it, it did not 
make great difference. He heard a low cul- 
tured voice upstairs saying : “ Tell Molly I will 
send her some in a moment,” and then Miss 
Grant appeared before him. 

It is true she did not know much about tak- 
ing new boarders, but she did the best she 
could. She told him there was one room left 
vacant that day, that it was not in order yet, 
but if he cared to see it, he might come up- 
stairs and do so. He followed her to the 
room. It happened to be the second story 


156 


“A DAILY BATE. 


front. It was not large, for economy of space 
had been exercised to a great degree in the 
building of that house, but it had a sunny ex- 
posure, and the young man knew by an un- 
comfortable experience in a dark room that 
that was a great advantage in a room. The 
bed did not look very soft nor inviting, and 
the two chairs in the room were rather dilap- 
idated. The bureau was a cheap one with a 
rheumatic castor, which gave it a reeling ap- 
pearance. The bed clothing was tumbled in a 
heap on the bed, as the German had left it. 
Altogether it was not just what one would 
call luxury. But it was so much better than 
some the weary man had seen that he ven- 
tured to ask timidly, “ Could I have some sort 
of a table to write on ? ” 

Miss Hannah thought a moment and told 
him that she thought he could. He asked the 
price and it proved to be not much more than 
he was now paying. After a little reflection 
he said he would take it. Afterward, when 
he had gone downstairs to the parlor to wait 
for the supper which she had said he might 
have, in response to his question if it was too 
late for the evening meal, he wondered why he 
had done so. What power had been upon him 
upstairs to make him determine to cast his lot 
in here ? It was not that room, even though 


DAILY RATE!' 


157 


it was a second story front, for that was very 
forlorn in the dim flickering gaslight, with 
the disorder of the German upon it. It was 
not the general look of the house, for that cer- 
tainly was not attractive. And now as he sat 
in the dimness of the shadow of the front 
window, and watched some of the boarders at 
the further end of the room, he felt that same 
sense of desolation steal over him which he 
had felt in so many boarding-houses that af- 
ternoon. He could not hope to find many 
congenial spirits here. He sighed. It was 
hard not to have some pleasant friends about 
one who could talk of the things one knew 
and loved, when one came in at night after a 
hard day’s work. But as Miss Hannah came 
back through the hall and in that quiet sweet 
voice of hers that made one feel as if a bene- 
diction had been pronounced upon one, told 
him that he could come to the dining-room 
now, he followed her and knew that it was 
his landlady who had drawn him to select this 
as his temporary home. She seated him and 
poured his coffee, and then excused herself 
and left him. He looked about him after he 
was left alone, and had bowed his head a mo- 
ment, more in supplication that the Lord 
would give him rest and strength for his 
work, than in thankfulness for his food, for he 


158 


A DAILY RATE.''> 


had learned that there were kinds of food 
which were as hard to eat as they were to di- 
gest. "With pleased surprise he saw the table- 
cloth was clean and free from crumbs. The 
plate before him held food as appetizing as 
any he could remember in pleasanter homes 
than those he had occupied lately. Of course 
the potatoes had been heated over and were 
not so nice as when first served, but the meat 
was tender and juicy, and he ate it with a rel- 
ish, for he was weary and had not had any- 
thing to really tempt his appetite for six 
weeks, that being the length of time since he 
had gone to his friend Eoger’s, to dinner. 
Those delicious rolls and that coffee were 
enough in themselves to satisfy a hungry man, 
and he began to feel that he had not chosen 
his home amiss. Then the kitchen door 
opened, and Celia entered bringing a boun- 
teous plate of apple dumpling covered with 
plenty of sauce. She put it down beside his 
place and began to remove the empty dishes, 
asking him if he would have anything more. 

‘‘ Thank you,” he said, looking up and smil- 
ing, “ I have had plenty and it has been so 
good. I have been boarding where they had 
miserable fare, and I did not know how hun- 
gry I was. This meal has tasted like my 
mother’s cooking.” 



‘‘ I have had plenty and it has been so good.” 


p. 158 








“A DAILY rate: 


159 


Celia’s eyes danced as she said demurely 
she was very glad. As she went back to the 
kitchen with the dishes, she could not help 
thinking what handsome eyes that man had, 
and how they were lit up by his smile. He 
was tall and thin with an intellectual face 
which many persons would have called homely, 
but of the style which Celia always desig- 
nated to herself and aunt Hannah as “ homely 
handsome.” 

The new boarder went out after his meal 
was finished. He had told his landlady that 
he would bring his belongings when he re- 
turned later in the evening, and she had 
promised to have his room ready for him. 

Celia went upstairs to see if she could do 
anything. She was bubbling over with de- 
light over the house and its inmates and all 
she wished to do. Ho child in a fairy tale 
ever had such delightful possibilities put into 
her hands, she thought, as had bebn given to 
her. 

“How,” said aunt Hannah, “that room 
must be fixed for that man, for he will come 
back by and by, and what shall we do with it 
to make it more habitable ? Poor fellow ! 
He must have been hard put to it indeed for 
shelter to have taken it looking like that, or 
perhaps he doesn’t know any better. But it 


160 


A DAILY BATE. 


did look so desolate I couldn’t bear to take 
him to it.” 

“Yes, he does know better, aunt Hannah,” 
said Celia, laughing. “ I know he does. He 
has a mother — and,” she added half ashamed, 
“ he has a smile.” 

“Well, I’m glad he has that,” said Miss 
Hannah, pulling the bedclothes off in a ging- 
erly way and extracting the German’s sheets 
and pillow-cases from the mass. “ He’ll need 
it to keep cheerful in this room to-night, I. 
think. Celia, I do wish I could get into my 
grandmother’s linen and blanket closet for a 
little while to-night. I should like to burn 
this quilt.” She held it out by her finger and 
thumb and examined it carefully. 

“ Burn it, then,” said Celia solemnly. 
“Haven’t we got an allowance? We’ll buy 
another.” Then she went to work to try and 
make that room less dreary. 

When the bed was made up with the clean- 
est things aunt Hannah could find, the wash 
bowl and pitcher and soap dish immaculate, 
and two copies of those flaring chromos called 
“ Wide Awake ” and “ Fast Asleep ” framed 
in varnished coffee berries had been removed 
from the walls, there was not much more to 
do. It was too late to do more at the paint 
than to wipe it off with a damp cloth, and the 


DAILY RATE.” 


161 


floor needed only brushing up. Aunt Hannah 
found a kitchen-table in Mrs. Morris’ room 
which had done duty for a dressing-table. 
She had Molly carry this upstairs for a writ- 
ing-table, and sighed that there was no cover 
for it. Celia meditated a moment, and then 
went up to her own back-room and took the 
embroidered denim cover from her trunk 
which she had made for a Christmas present 
for aunt Hannah and brought it. It was a lit- 
tle sacrifice but the table needed it. It wasn’t 
too fine for use, and it would cause the bare 
room to look more habitable. 

“ There, aunt Hannah,” she said, “ I made it 
for you, but you ma}^ do what you like with it.” 

Then aunt Hannah took Celia’s face between 
her hands and kissed her and said, “ My dear 
girl ! ” and put the pretty cover on the table. 

“ I don’t know as I should have done that,” 
meditated Celia later, “if it hadn’t been for 
that smile and his speaking about his mother.” 

She looked around the room once more as 
she was about to leave it. Aunt Hannah had 
gone down to the kitchen to help Molly pre- 
pare for breakfast. Her eyes fell upon the 
two rickety chairs. She thought of Harry 
Knowles. A moment’s reflection, and she ran 
down to the parlor and beckoned him to come 
into the hall. 


162 


A DAILY RATE.'’’ 


“ Harry,’- said she, (they had already gotten 
Avell enough acquainted so that she could call 
him by his first name ; she exercised that pre- 
rogative which a girl a little older than a 
young man likes to use and which the young 
man seems to be proud to have exercised some- 
times. It was a pleasant brotherly and sisterly 
way to treat one another), “ did you know 
there was a new boarder ? I was passing the 
room just now. It looked awfully dreary be- 
fore it was fixed up. The worst thing is the 
chairs. I wonder if you couldn’t bring up 
your hammer and fix them a little. It seems 
too bad for a new boarder to find things all 
run down on the first night he comes.” 

“ All right, I’m with you. Miss Murray,” said 
Harry, interested at once. “ I know how it 
feels myself. Besides that good dinner has 
given me a longing to do something for some- 
body else.” 

They went upstairs to the chairs, and as 
they went Harry said in a confiding tone, 
“ Say, Miss Murray, I believe that Miss Grant 
is going to be great, don’t you ? She seems 
kind of like a woman who knew how, don’t 
you know? Sometimes she makes me think 
of my mother just a little.” 

Celia smiled and said she thought so, and 
they went to work. 


A DAILY BATE.'' 


1G3 


It was after the room was all in order, and 
some delicious cakes set rising in the yellow 
bowl downstairs for the morning breakfast, 
set with buckwheat that smelled of the wav- 
ing fields it came from. The lights were out 
and everything quiet and Celia, lying awake 
to think over all that had happened, suddenly 
became aware that her aunt Hannah was 
awake also. Upon questioning her she at last 
ferreted out the reason for her wakefulness. 

“Well, you see, Celia, I suppose I’m rather 
tired to-night, though I don’t feel it one bit, 
I’ve been so interested in it all. But somehow 
I’ve just begun to think that maybe I ought 
not to have let you undertake this scheme. It 
is all very nice and benevolent, but what if it 
shouldn’t succeed ? If it should run behind 
and take a good deal of your money and you 
have to Avork hard for your living again, I 
should never get over blaming myself. Then 
too, I’m a little worried about that new man. 
I don’t know as I ought to have taken him into 
the house without knowing the first thing 
about him, and I’ve always heard a city Avas 
an awful place to get taken in. He may be a 
robber, or some dreadful kind of a man, 
though to be sure he didn’t look it. I must 
confess that I liked his looks very much, but 
you know, Celia dear, Satan sometimes appears 


1G4 


A DAILY RATE." 


as an angel of light. I have heard that gam- 
blers are often mistaken for ministers. I know 
perfectly well that I am ‘green,’ as the boys 
used to say, and perhaps I have been deceived. 
He was very late getting in and he looked 
pale. It may be he is dissipated, though I 
cannot really think that.” 

“ How, auntie dear,” laughed Celia, putting 
her arms about her, “ that isn’t a bit like you. 
You must be over- tired or you never would 
talk like that. Just remember your own 
words to me ‘Charge not thyself with the 
weight of a year ’ and ‘ Bend not thine arm 
for to-morrow’s load. Thou mayst leave that 
to thy gracious Lord.’ Don’t you fret one bit. 
What if he is a gambler or a robber ? He 
can’t do us any harm. We’ve nothing to 
gamble and nothing to rob. Perhaps we’ll 
do him some good, and anyway I don’t be- 
lieve he’s anything but good — he talked to me 
— that is he said he had a mother and she 
cooked like that, and then he smiled.” 

Then they both laughed and Miss Hannah 
kissed her niece and thanked her for the re- 
minder that she need not bear burdens. After 
that they fell asleep. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


The minister was very weary when he 
went up to his new room that night, and he 
put down his satchel and looked around him 
hoping the bed would be more inviting than 
when last he saw it, though he had grown ac- 
customed to sleeping soundly on any bed no 
matter how hard or uneven. He drew a long 
sigh of relief. It looked clean anyway. He 
turned down the covering and smoothed the 
sheets. They had no appearance of having 
been slept in before. He drew another sigh. 
That was one fear off his mind. He noticed 
next the table with its pretty cover. He was 
not accustomed to fancy work. He did not 
know whether this was done by hand or 
machinery. He only knew that it was a 
touch of beauty in his dreary room and he 
felt gladdened by it. He went over to the 
table and awkwardly felt of the material, 
passed his hand over the embroidery and 
smiled. He said to himself he would write to 
his mother-about it and she Avould be pleased. 
Then he knelt down beside the table and 
bowed his head in prayer upon it asking that 


1G6 


A DAILY rate:' 


he might receive and give a blessing in that 
house where he had come to take up his abode, 
and that if possible, it might be such a place 
that he would feel it was right and best that 
he should remain for a time. 

About that same time Harry Knowles 
stood before the bureau in his room and 
looked at his mother’s picture. His face was 
grave and sad. He looked into the pictured 
eyes with a questioning longing as if he 
would have her with him again that he might 
ask her advice. He looked into her face till 
the tears started in his own eyes. He let 
them drop unheeded on the bureau and on 
the little velvet frame. She seemed to him to 
be looking into his life, and asking him what 
he had done with his time since she left him. 
At last he turned away his head and said 
aloud, “Well, I’m glad I didn’t go to-night 
anyway. I s’pose the boys’ll give me no end 
of chaff about backing out, but I’ve proved to 
myself that I can stay at home once when I 
say so. I wish mother was here. I’d tell her 
all about it, I believe, and promise her to start 
over again. I wonder if ’twould be any use ! 
If a fellow only had some one to help him ! ” 
and he sighed and went to bed. 

It is not quite certain what time Molly 
Poppleton arose the next morning. Celia 


DAILY RATE:-> 


1G7 


told her if she had only gotten up a very little 
earlier, she might have met herself going to 
bed. The range unused to such treatment 
brightened up early too, and was soon baking 
and boiling away to please the most fastidious 
cook. The oatmeal had been cooking slowly 
all night, and was getting ready to be a deli- 
cious porridge, such as is found in its perfection 
only in the land of Scotland. Molly had 
coaxed the milk by all the arts she knew, till 
it actually gave forth a thin yellow cream for 
the oatmeal. True, she scoffed at it and said 
it wasn’t as rich as skim milk in Cloverdale, 
but then the boarders were not used to Clover- 
dale milk, and they called this cream. She 
picked and shredded the codfish to a degree 
of fineness that would have made the departed 
Maggie stand in amaze at such a waste of 
labor, and then with all the skill of long ex- 
perience, she mixed just the right proportion 
of potatoes for the most delectable codfish 
balls, when they should be browned to a crisp, 
that ever any one tasted. 

“ Codfish balls are good, and anybody that 
doesn’t like ’em when they are made just right 
doesn’t know, that’s all. Besides one can’t 
liave beefsteak every day and there’s plenty 
else to eat.” So said Molly. 

Then she tested the buckwheat cakes to be 


168 


DAILY BATEA* 


sure there was exactly the right amount of 
soda and enough milk to make them brown 
on both sides, and set the coffee where it would 
get its finishing-off, and rang the bell. Just 
one minute ahead of time that bell rang. 
Molly Foppleton did love to get ahead of 
time, even if it was but one minute. 

“I say,” said Harry Knowles, holding a 
golden-brown fish-ball up on his fork and ad- 
miring it, “ if that is a fish-ball, then I never 
saw one before. It is a libel on that pretty 
thing to call it by that name, or else all the 
ones I ever tried to eat were very poor imita- 
tions.” Molly, coming in just then with a 
generous supply of hot buckwheats heard the 
remark, and her soul swelled with joy and 
pride, and thereafter Harry Knowles was her 
favorite of all the boarders unless it was the 
minister who grew into her good graces by 
another way not long after. He had come in 
just a moment before, and was enjoying his 
dish of oatmeal and wondering what made the 
difference between it and all the other oat- 
meal he had tried to eat in the weeks since he 
came to Philadelphia to live. Was it possible 
that he had at last found a place where things 
were really good to eat, or was he getting a 
good appetite from working so hard ? He re- 
solved, at any rate, to ask the cook, sometime 


DAILY EATEA^ 


169 


when he Avas well enough acquainted, if he 
might take a dish of this to the old Scotch 
woman who was lying sick in an attic and 
longing for her dear home across the seas. 

That breakfast was a pleasant surprise to 
more than one of the boarders. The brake- 
man, coming in a little late from his all-night 
run, having taken his dinner the night before 
at the other end of his line, and therefore not 
being prepared for changes except the mere 
fact that Mrs. Morris had gone away, and 
some one else Avas to supply her place for a 
while, was dumbfounded. He dreAv his chair 
up to the table with his usual familiar assur- 
ance, and then looked around in almost em- 
barrassment a moment. He Avas not quite 
sure Avhat made him feel so. Was it the 
pleasant-faced, white-haired woman at the 
head of the table, who smiled a good-morning 
to him in a tone which Avas cordial and yet 
had a note in it that made him feel she was 
from another Avorld than his OAvn ? Or Avas it 
the few flowers in the tiny vase in the centre 
of the table? Or? But he Avas unable to 
detail the rest of the changes, they seemed to 
him so subtle. He turned his attention to the 
breakfast Avhich certainly Avas good. Maggie 
had improved, evidently. 


170 


A DAILY BATE:'> 


In short, those boarders went to their day’s 
work well fed and comfortable for the first 
time in many weeks, and were therefore bet- 
ter workers, and better human beings in every 
way, because they were not all day troubled 
by the demands and complaints of nature in 
consequence of what they had eaten, or what 
they had not eaten. 

Just as Celia was going out of the door. 
Miss Hannah, who had followed her, put her 
hand on her arm and drew her into the parlor 
for a moment. 

‘‘ Celia, dear,” she said, “ we must have a 
talk to-night as soon after dinner as possible, 
and find out how this house is to be run and 
decide some questions. You know we cannot 
go ahead blindly and get into debt as Mrs. 
Morris did.” 

“ I’ll risk you, auntie dear,” Celia said, as 
she kissed her behind the red chenille curtain. 
“ But we’ll have our talk, and I’ll get home 
just as early as I can to help, if you need me. 
Then after dinner we’ll have a cozy time and 
do a lot of figuring. I’ve done some already. 
Good-bye. Don’t try to reform everything 
to-day, leave just a little for to-morrow. Do 
you want me to stop at some employment of- 
fice and get another servant ? ” 

“ Ho, not yet, dear. There’s too much to 


DAILY RATE.'^ 


171 


be done before we introduce any new ele- 
ments, and besides we don’t know yet whether 
we can afford another servant. We mustn’t 
run behind, you know.” 

Then they parted with a smile of perfect 
understanding, and aunt Hannah went to her 
new duties with enthusiasm. There were a 
few things she meant to have radically differ- 
ent in some of her guests’ sleeping rooms be- 
fore that day drew to a close, and there was 
much planning and marketing to do. Molly 
Poppleton was in her element in the kitchen. 
Miss Hannah could hear her voice singing 
above the clatter of pots and pans, 

“ What though the spicy breezes 
Blow soft o’er Ceylon’s isle ; 

Though every prospect pleases, 

And only man is vile ; — ” 

Molly was cleaning out the departed Maggie’s 
kettle closet under the back stairs, and stopped 
occasionally in her singing to express her mind 
as to some dirty corner and then went on — 

“In vain with lavish kindness 
The gifts of God are strewn ; 

The heathen in his blindness, 

Bows down to wood and stone ! ” 

Aunt Hannah smiled as she went upstairs. 
She knew that the good-hearted Molly was 
mingling the theme of her song with her own 


172 


DAILY BATE.” 


thoughts about the dirty house and the need 
of the boarders and that she would work it 
all out by and by. 

“Shall we whose souls are lighted 
With wisdom from on high, — 

Shall we to men benighted, 

The lamp of life deny ? ” 

went on the singer, and Miss Hannah knew the 
hard working singer’s thought was that she 
would make a cheerful, clean house and good 
food, and give the rest of them a chance to 
try and help save the poor city heathen board- 
ers, for Molly Poppleton looked upon all na- 
tive city boarders as heathen in the truest 
sense of the word, and she had taken with joy 
the few words Miss Hannah had spoken to her 
about the mission they were going to try to 
start, the mission of making one bright little 
clean home spot for a few people who had 
hitherto been in discomfort. 

The dining-room windows were washed that 
morning, and several other windows, and 
Molly Poppleton sang a great many of Isaac 
Watts’ hymns through before she prepared 
lunch for herself and Miss Hannah. She did 
not remember when she had been so happy. 
Neither, indeed, did Miss Hannah. 

It had been the one great ambition of Han- 
nah Grant’s life, since she had lost the love of 


DAILY BATE.'^ 


173 


her youth, and been made to see that hers was 
not to go on the great mission of salvation to 
the heathen- of other nations, that she should 
have some spot which she could call her own, 
where she might exercise her powers of help- 
ing people. And now it seemed as though she 
was to have opportunity. She thanked her 
heavenly Father every hour, even for the dirt 
and desolation of the place, because he had 
given to her the sweet privilege of brightening 
a place that had hitherto been dark. 

It was after dinner. The minister was in 
his room writing to his mother, before he went 
out to a meeting at the mission. Down in the 
parlor the brake man sat at the organ accom- 
panying himself as he sang in stentorian voice 
the touching ballad of 

“Granny’s only left to me her old armchair.” 

Celia smiled as she ran upstairs where her 
aunt was waiting for the conference. 

“Just listen, auntie dear, did you ever hear 
the like,” she said, putting her head in at the 
door, and the words of the chorus in decided 
nasal twang floated up the two flights of 
stairs : 

“How they tittered, how they chaffed, 

How my brothers and my sisters laughed, 

When they heard the lawyers declare, 

Granny’s only left to me her old armchair.” 


174 


A DAILY RATEy 


“ Do you really think, aunt Hannah, that 
it’s any use to try to reach and help people 
who have that sort of taste in music, even if 
you try through their taste in buckwheat 
cakes ? ” 

Celia’s face was gay with laughter, but there 
was an undertone of trouble in it which Miss 
Hannah detected and understood. 

“ Dearie, Christ died for him, even if he does 
seem to be too coarse-grained to understand 
the little refining infiuences you are trying to 
weave around him. Yes, of course it is worth 
while. You can’t expect him to turn into a 
person with the tastes of a Beethoven. You 
are not that yourself, remember, and it’s all in 
the scale of life. But I know what you mean, 
and I do think it’s worth while to try. You 
see if it wasn’t, God wouldn’t have put him 
just here for us to try on. You mustn’t ex- 
pect the same result as you would from ” 

“From your new boarder, auntie? The 
gambler with the smile you mean?” Celia 
was laughing now, for both had seen with the 
morning light that whatever else their new 
boarder was, he was a man to be trusted. 

“Yes,” said aunt Hannah. “You mustn’t 
expect the same results from trying to help 
this man that you would the other, but you’ll 
find he will have a depth to his nature which 


DAILY BATEA^ 


175 


you don’t suspect, if you look for it. Listen ! 
He is singing something else. It may give 
you a clue.” 

Again the voice rang out deeply, pathet- 
ically and nasally, 

“ Lost on the Lady Elgin, 

Slumbering to wake no more, 

Numbering about three hundred, — 

Who failed to reach the shore. ” 


“ Oh, auntie, I can’t stand another line,” 
said Celia rushing into the room and throw- 
ing herself on the bed in a paroxysm of laugh- 
ter. “To have those awful words in that 
ludicrous song roared out in that dramatic 
way is too, too funny. And he asked me if I 
would sing ‘ Where is my wandering boy to- 
night ? ’ with him. How coidd I ? ” 

“How, dear girl,” said aunt Hannah sitting 
down on the bed beside her, “ perhaps that is 
just your chance. Sing ‘Where is my wan- 
dering boy to-night?’ with him some time. 
You may be able to help him to higher, more 
refining things in some way, even if he does 
continue to amuse you with his music. If 
you want to help all these people, you will 
have to do as Paul did and be all things to 
all men, that you may by all means save 
some.” 


176 


DAILY BATE, 


Celia sobered down at once. 

“ Yes, I know, aunt Hannah, but somehow 
I never could be that, unless I was interested 
in people. It troubles me sometimes, but this 
black-eyebrowed, smiling, conceited brakeman 
isn’t in the least attractive. How that boy 
Harry Knowles is. I feel sorry for him. He 
misses his mother, and I’m afraid he goes with 
a wild set. I got him to fix some chairs last 
night and he seemed interested and stayed at 
home. But to-night he slipped out just before 
I came up, and looked the other way when I 
came down the hall, as if he didn’t want me 
to see him and ask him to stay in, at least I 
fancy that was the reason, because I’ve asked 
him to stay once or twice. It worries me to 
think he is going wrong, and I feel as if I 
could pray all night that God would save him. 
I can’t get away from that look in the eyes of 
his mother’s picture. He brought it down 
to the parlor one night and showed it to 
me. And he is so young, only just eighteen. 
Auntie, I want to do so much for the people, 
do you suppose God will let me do something 
at least ? ” 

“ Dear child,” said aunt Hannah as she bent 
over and kissed her, “ I feel sure he will, and 
he will hear your prayers and help you to 
work in the right way and to be interested in 


A DAILY RATE.'^ 


177 


the uninteresting, too. And now get your 
pencil and paper and let’s go to work.” 

Celia sprang up and soon they were hard at 
work. 

“ What I want to do is this, aunt Hannah,” 
said Celia. “ I want to make this as pleasant 
a home for us all, as it can be made on the 
money that we all pay in for our board. You 
and I will pay ours too, you know, that is if 
it can’t be run without that, and then we’ll 
just have things as nice as we can on that. 
If we need anything extra, why you and I 
can count that a gift, you know, from our 
allowance. But to be strictly honest as a 
boarding-house, and not a charitable institu- 
tion, we ought to run it on what is paid in, 
oughtn’t we? I would like to prove that a 
boarding-house can be comfortable as well as 
cheap. Do you think it can be done ? ” 

“ I do,” said the elder woman, thoughtfully. 
“I have done some careful thinking myself, 
and I think it can. I shall enjoy trying, any- 
way.” 

“And auntie, there’s another thing; this 
allowance of mine is half yours you know. I 
won’t have it any other way. You and I 
have nine hundred dollars a year to live on, 
besides what is now in the bank in cash, and 
we can do what we please with it, give it 


178 


A DAILY RATE:^ 


away if we want to. If we can make this 
house pay our board, then we will have the 
rest to live on. But if we can’t, we’ll run the 
house up to the full extent of what we can 
alford to put into it, for a few months at least, 
just to give these poor souls a taste of some- 
thing like home. I would rather do that than 
give my money somewhere else, for I think 
they all need it. Do you think, auntie, w^e 
have enough money to start on to hope to 
make things go nicely at the beginning ? ]N ine 
hundred dollars a year seems to me a great 
deal of money, but people say that money 
doesn’t go far in the city.” 

Celia’s brow was clouded as she spoke. 

“ There goes my girl down into her cellar 
of despair over a thought,” said aunt Hannah, 
leaning over to smooth the pucker out of her 
niece’s brow. “ I wish you would get just a 
little more trust in your heavenly Father, that 
he will take care of the work he has put into 
your hands, and see that it prospers in spite 
of your worries. Now tell me everything you 
know about this house and the way it is run.” 


CHAPTER XIY. 


Aunt Hannah and Celia had finished the 
last puzzling question, added up the final row 
of figures, and were peacefully sleeping in 
their beds. All the lights in the house Avere 
out, when there Avas heard a loud noise at the 
street door, as if some one Avas thrown, or 
threAv himself, several times heavily against it. 
This Avas followed by voices talking loud and 
excitedly, and then in more muffled tones. 
The door knob Avas turned and rattled, and a 
latchkey clicked and half turned in the lock 
as if handled by clumsy or unacquainted 
fingers. 

The minister heard the noise first, as his 
room Avas over the front of the house, and ris- 
ing he opened his Avindow and tried to speak 
and quiet the disturbance, but he received 
only curses for his interference, and he 
thought he recognized in one of the midnight 
revelers the form of one of the boarders. 
Closing his AAundoAv, he dressed as rapidly as 
possible, that he might go doAAm if his assist- 
ance Avas needed. By the time he Avas half- 
way doAvn the stairs, however, and Avas just 

179 


180 


A DAILY RATE.'' 


striking a match, the fumbling latchkey at 
last turned, and the door burst open, literally 
tumbling into the hall three young men just 
at Horace Stafford’s feet. Miss Grant and 
Celia, though they slept on the third floor, 
were near the stair landing and had at last 
heard the noise. They had slipped on wrap- 
pers and slippers and stood at the head of the 
stairs iust above Mr. Stafford, as he struck the 
light. 

“ What does this mean ? ” said aunt Hannah, 
in as stern a voice as she could muster, with 
Celia, bewildered and trembling, clinging to 
her arm and begging her to come back. 

But there was too much disturbance below 
for her to be heard, and she and Celia could 
but stand and watch. 

The new boarder seemed to know what to 
do in the present emergency. He promptly 
lighted the gas, turning it up to its full 
strength, and then extricated the three young 
men, who seemed to be in a helplessly tangled 
condition on the floor at his feet. Two of 
them were promptly withdrawn from the hall 
by their comrades outside, and the one left 
stood miserably against the wall and looked 
about him. 

It was hard to recognize in this dirty, 
rough fellow with bloodshot eyes and white 


DAILY BATE,' 


181 


face, the gay, bright young man who always 
looked so neat, and whom everybody liked 
and called “ Harry.’’ 

“ Oh, auntie, that is Harry Knowles,” said 
Gelia, in horrified tones, and then the young 
man looked up. 

“ Hulloa, Celia,” he called, in a pitifully gay 
voice, “is that you? Yes, I’m here all right, 
only I’ve been out on a lark and the lark’s 
gone to my head. Come down, and talk to a 
fellow a while, just fer a change, you know.” 

Celia shrank back in dismay, as she saw the 
poor fellow stagger toward the stairs and 
heard him say, “ Can’t you get down ? Well, 
I’ll come up and get you. Awful shaky stairs, 
I know, but I’ll manage ’em yet, don’t you be 
afraid.” 

And then a strong hand grasped his arm 
and a clear, commanding voice said, 

“ Stand right where you are ! Don’t stir a 
step, and don’t speak another word to those 
ladies.” Then the minister turned to the 
frightened women and said in low tones, 

“ Don’t be afraid, go to your rooms and I 
will take care of him.” 

Harry had sat stupidly down on the stairs 
saying meekly, 

“All right, cap’n, jes’s you say. You’re 
boss, an’ I’m sleepy.” 


182 


A DAILY DATE.” 


Miss Hannah took assurance from the calm 
face and powerful frame of her new boarder 
and led Celia away, while the minister care- 
fully and even tenderly helped the young man 
to his room and took care of him as if he had 
been his own brother. 

Miss Hannah had her hands full with Celia. 
The young girl had thrown herself on the bed 
in a violent fit of weeping, and it required all 
her aunt’s persuasive powers to quiet her and 
try to soothe her to sleep. Celia had not been 
accustomed to young men wdio drank. Her 
cousins had been steady, whatever else they 
might not have been. She had never seen a 
man come home at night drunk, and she had 
never been spoken to by one. 

The familiar tone and the vacant, silly stare 
with which the young man had looked up at 
her had given her a shock she could not for- 
get. Whenever she tried to be quiet and sit 
up and listen to aunt Hannah, she would shud- 
der again at the thought of the scene she had 
just witnessed. By and by, when she was 
calmer she wailed out, 

“Now we shall have to give up the whole 
thing, auntie. We can’t have people getting 
drunk,” and she shuddered again. 

“ Now, child ! Don’t get into your cellar of 
despair again. It’s like some people’s cyclone 


A DAILY bate:' 


183 


cellars out West, always there ready for you, 
and you fly down the stairs at sign of the first 
little cloud that appears in your sky. Can’t 
you remember we have a heavenly Father 
who is looking out for us? Get a little more 
trust, dear. IS^o, of course we shall not have 
to give up, just for one boarder who has gone 
wrong. We are not obliged to keep him, you 
know, if he makes a disturbance. But I’d not 
be the first one to turn him out without an- 
other trial. What are we here for but to try 
to help such as he? Maybe he never was 
really drunk before. He is young and doesn’t 
look to be bad. He’ll be sorry enough for it 
all to-morrow, I’m sure, or I’ve mistaken the 
face of that picture of his mother on his 
bureau. A boy who has had a mother like 
that can’t go wrong all at once. We’ll do 
what we can for him. You have some work 
to do for him, dear, and you must try and for- 
get to-night for Christ’s sake ! ” 

“ Oh, aunt Hannah ! ” groaned Celia, “ how 
can I ever speak to him again, after his talking 
that way to me, and calling me by my name, 
too, as if I was a little girl ? The idea of his 
taking the liberty of speaking that way. Oh, 
I feel as if I never could try to help anybody 
again.” 

“ How, Celia ! ” said aunt Hannah, speaking 


184 


‘M DAILY RATEy 


rather sharply for her, you must not talk that 
way. That wasn’t Harry Knowles that spoke 
to you to-night. It was a demon that he had 
swallowed that had taken entire possession, 
and put out for a time the light of reason in 
him. You told me yourself that he has always 
been respectful, and he’s nothing but a boy in 
years, much younger than you. And Celia, 
he is very dear to your Saviour.” 

Aunt Hannah’s heart had gone out to the 
poor motherless boy, and she longed to save 
him from the awful destruction that she saw 
yawning in front of the path he was treading. 
Celia knew her aunt was right, and by degrees 
she regained her composure, and began to 
mount up into the first story at least of her 
faith, and believe that everything was not 
gone to destruction yet. However, she went 
to the store the next morning with a heavy 
heart. She had so great a horror of drunk- 
ards and drunkenness, and so strong a belief 
in the power of appetite, that she felt little or 
no hope of trying to save any one from the 
awful end of a drunkard, who had once com- 
menced to tread that downward path. She 
went about all day, feeling as deep sadness as 
if she had witnessed the terrible death of some 
friend. 

Miss Hannah had spent a long time in 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


185 


prayer that night, after she heard once more 
the regular breathing of Celia, and knew she 
was asleep. She asked God’s grace to help 
her do what was best for this poor homeless 
boy, and if it might be that he would honor 
her with bearing the message of salvation to 
his soul, she would give God all the glory. 
Her soul longed for the soul of the boy whose 
feet were astray, and she was filled with a kind 
of divine compassion for him, such as Jesus 
would have us feel, such as he felt, for those 
for whom he died. 

The minister, meantime, had put the poor 
boy to bed. He was docile enough, and al- 
most grateful in a maudlin sort of way, for 
the help given him, and he sank at once into a 
deep sleep. Horace Stafford turned the gas 
low, and established himself by the bedside 
for some time, until he felt certain that there 
was nothing else the matter with the slum- 
berer. Then he knelt beside the boy, and 
asked God’s mercy for him and went to his 
own room. 

It was not until far into the afternoon that 
the sleeper roused. Horace Stafford had found 
out by judicious questioning, and without re- 
vealing his condition to the other boarders 
(who fortunately had none of them heard the 
disturbance in the night), where the young 


186 


DAILY BATE:^ 


man worked. He had then gone himself to 
the store, and asked for the head of the firm, 
giving his own card and explaining that the 
young salesman was ill, and unable to come to 
work that day. The head of the firm had 
been very kind. He had recognized the name 
of the minister as well as that of the mission 
chapel which he mentioned in introducing 
himself, thinking the word of a minister might 
go further toward excusing the absence of the 
young man, and asked kindly how the work 
Avas getting on. He said he had meant to 
send in a contribution to that work, but had 
let it slip by without attention, and he handed 
the minister a crisp ten dollar bill. Then he 
promised to see that young Knowles’ place for 
the day was supplied, and asked to be notified 
if the illness should prove serious, and there 
was anything he could do for him. He said 
he liked the young man, though of course he 
kneAV but little of him, but he feared he had 
not good health, as he looked frail. When 
Horace Stafford left the store, he had a better 
opinion of employers than he had been led to 
hold from some reading he had been doing 
lately. 

When Harry Knowles awoke that after- 
noon, he was conscious first of his physical 
condition. His head ached miserably, and he 


A DAILY RATE.'' 


187 


could not bear to stir. His throat burned as 
with fire, and all things seemed full of a 
ghastly horror. He opened his eyes, and the 
first thing he saw was his mother’s picture. 
It stood on the bureau opposite his bed. Miss 
Hannah had been softly going about the 
room that morning, putting things to rights, 
and putting a touch of home here and there 
where she could do it in a few minutes. She 
had wiped the dust from the velvet and pol- 
ished the glass of the frame with a damp 
cloth, and the clear sweet eyes of Harry’s 
mother looked straight into his, so full of love 
and compassion and motherly tenderness, that 
Harry felt it all and suddenly realized his 
present condition and what had caused it. He 
could not bear his mother’s tender love. She 
seemed to be looking through into his very 
soul. He closed his eyes to shut hers out. As 
he did so, all his experiences of last night 
came swiftly and stood before him one by 
one, and passed before his mother’s eyes too. 
He seemed to know at every instant what she 
would be feeling about it all. He recalled his 
resolve to stay in, and how the boys called for 
him before he had settled down to doing any- 
thing, and asked him to just come out for a 
while ; how they had coaxed him away from 
his resolves, and interested him in their plans 


188 


A DAILY BATEA' 


for the evening. They had planned an even- 
ing at the theatre and a supper afterward, and 
they made him feel that he was being con- 
sidered mean not to join in and help with the 
expenses, since they had taken his coming as a 
matter of course, and ordered a seat and a 
plate for him. They joked him unmercifully, 
and said they believed he had been going to 
Sunday-school again, and had promised his 
nice little teacher that he would be good. 
They called him a “ dear little fellow,” and 
said they wouldn’t bother him any more, he 
should have a stick of pink and white candy 
so he should, and one of them actually bought 
it and presented it to him. He had knocked 
it into the street, and declared he had no in- 
tention of not joining them and bearing his 
share of the expense, and then they all seemed 
glad and turned his mind to enjoyment. “ We 
didn’t really believe you were getting to be a 
sissy boy,” they said. His conscience had had 
no time to reproach him. They had not men- 
tioned going in to any of their favorite haunts 
for a game — that game which he had begun 
to fear on account of the way it reduced his 
always scanty funds. They only seemed bent 
on having an innocent good time. Oh, they 
had known well how to get him into the 
thing. They knew they could touch some- 


‘M DAILY RATE:^ 


189 


thing that he called his sense of honor, when 
they said he had left them in a tight place, as 
they had ordered supper for him, and if he 
didn’t pay for it they would have to do it. 
And they took him to a play that was very 
funny. He enjoyed fun. There were one or 
two things toward the end that had brought 
a warm flush to his cheeks at the time, be- 
cause he couldn’t help thinking how ashamed 
his mother would be to know he was listening 
to and laughing at such things. But he 
wouldn’t have had the fellows know that for 
anything. He had gone to that supper and 
been as jolly as any of them after it. But he 
had resolved, when he gave it to them, that 
he would not drink. That had been the great 
reason why he had tried to decline. When 
people offered him drink, he could always hear 
his mother’s voice saying, “ Harry dear, 
mother hopes you will always have courage to 
say no, if you are ever asked to drink wine or any 
strong drink.” He tried to make it right with 
his conscience when he turned to go with the 
boys, by saying that he would not drink a 
drop. He knew they Avould ask him, and it 
would be uncomfortable to refuse, but he had 
done it heretofore, and he would do it to-night. 
After to-night, he would try to gradually 
drift away from that set. It would not do to 


190 


DAILY BATEy 


break off all of a sudden, but he would try to 
do it gradually. Of course he could. Had he 
not stayed at home that evening when Miss 
Murray fixed the lamp, and then again last 
night ? Both of these times he had promised 
to go with the boys. He felt strong with the 
sense of having conquered once before. He 
did not remember a Bible verse then that his 
mother used often to quote to him, “ Let him 
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he 
fall,” he only told himself that he had proved 
to himself that he was fully able to break off 
going with those boys whenever he chose, and 
therefore he had a right to go with them for a 
little innocent fun just once more. 

Ah, but he did not know even now, as he 
lay here in his bed with shame in his heart, 
and the tears of repentance overflowing his 
eyes and trickling between the tightly closed 
lashes, that Satan had leagued against him 
last night, and that those boys had vowed to 
conquer his foolish protests once and for all, 
and get him gloriously drunk. Once let him 
break down that silly shame, they said, and he 
would be a jolly good fellow, for Harry was 
bright and quick-witted. Why they wanted to 
do it is not quite certain. Perhaps some of 
them were fiendish enough to want to drag 
him down as low as themselves, just for very 


DAILY RATEA^ 


191 


love of deviltry. Others, perhaps, felt rebuked 
by his shrinking back at daring things which 
were proposed, and still others, older in their 
sin, liked him for his gay words and witty 
sayings, and were resolved to make of him a 
thoroughly good bad-fellow whom they could 
enjoy. Their experience had taught them that 
when one such once goes astray, he will dare 
more than some who never had any scruples. 

Harry only knew that they had passed some 
cider first. They declared they had ordered it 
for his sake as they knew his temperance prin- 
ciples, and they laughed and nudged one an- 
other as it was passed and winked, and Harry 
felt goaded to do almost anything to prove 
that he was just as good, or as bad, as they 
were. 

How Harry was not fond of sweet cider. 
The few times he had tasted it, it had seemed 
insipid to him. He knew, indeed, that there 
were some people who went so far as to object 
to cider drinking. In a general way, he knew 
that there was a difference between sweet and 
hard cider, and it would have been well for 
him that night, if he had been possessed of a 
few decided opinions on the subject himself. 
He hesitated and then took some, but his hesi- 
tation was noticed and the boys had asked 
him if he were afraid of that too. He had 


192 


A DAILY BATE.’’ 


flushed crimson and declared that he was not, 
and they had unmercifully passed his glass for 
more, and watched to see if he drank that. 
Then something else had been brought on, 
Harry did not just know what, whether wine 
or beer or something else. The cider had 
been by no means sweet and must have gone 
to his head. When they passed by his chair 
with the wine glasses, he had caught the 
whispered words and laughs of his companions 
over him, and turning quick without a thought 
for anything than to prove his — what ? — cow- 
ardice? he ordered the waiter to give him 
some. A tremendous cheer had arisen from 
the boys, so loud it almost brought him to his 
senses. He drank that glass and another, and 
then he felt a feverish desire to swallow more, 
and they filled his glass again and again, he 
not asking or caring what it contained. That 
was the story. He did not know now, or stop 
to ask himself how he got here, to what he 
called home. He supposed it was in the same 
shameful way that some of the others were 
taken sometimes, the way that had hitherto 
been a strong barrier in the way of his joining 
in their drinking festivities. Whether any one 
saw or knew, he did not dare to ask. He 
only knew that he lay here, and that his 
mother’s eyes were over there, and that God 


DAILY RATE. 


193 


always seemed to be near his mother, and that 
he did not dare to open his eyes again. He 
heard the soft movement of a woman’s dress, 
and a light step. It seemed like his mother’s. 
He could almost think as he lay here that this 
was his home once more, and his mother was 
nursing him from some dreadful illness. Only 
this bed was so hard. Oh, the shame and 
horror if this had happened at his dear old 
home with his mother in it. It would have 
killed her. He groaned aloud, and then he 
heard that soft step again and wondered. 
Was he dead? Was this the — where? the 
judgment seat — perhaps? For his mother 
surely was there and God ! Oh ! 


CHAPTER XY. 


So3iE one stood beside him and put a large 
cool hand on his aching brow, and a woman’s 
voice, gentle and low, said “ Drink this.” 

Then, although his very being was filled 
with disgust at the thought of eating or drink- 
ing anything, he let himself be raised from 
the pillow and swallow down the hot steam- 
ing coffee that was held for him. Miss 
Hannah gave his pillows a shake, and he set- 
tled back again with his eyes closed. He did 
not care for the coffee ; he wondered that he 
could have drunk it, and yet he knew by the 
aroma of it that it was unlike any coffee he 
had ever drank in that house before, and there 
gradually crept over him a sense of relief 
from the drinking of it. It was not that the 
throbbing in his temples was any less, but per- 
haps he felt a little better able to bear it. 
Miss Hannah brought a clean linen cloth and 
a large soft toAvel, and washed his hot face 
and hands, just as his mother used to do Avhen 
he was sick, and gently smoothed his tumbled 
hair. He did not look at her. His eyes were 
closed tight, and he was trying with all his 
104 


A DAILY BATE. 


195 


might to force back the hot tears that were 
surely burning -their way out beneath his 
lashes. The tears came and Miss Hannah saw 
them. She stooped and kissed him softly on 
his forehead and said in that gentle pitying 
voice again, “ Poor boy ! ” and then she slipped 
away and left him alone. 

If Hiram Bartlett had been there he would 
have said that aunt Hannah was encouraging 
drunkenness by giving the young man so much 
attention ; that pity was not what such a fellow 
needed, he ought to be soundly thrashed. He 
would get an idea that it was a fine thing to 
come home drunk, if he were petted and taken 
care of for it. But Hiram Bartlett was not 
there, and aunt Hannah was glad. She did 
what she felt in her inmost soul Jesus Christ 
would have her do, if she could hear his voice 
telling her. 

When she slipped away and left Harry 
alone, it was to tap lightly on the minister’s 
door and tell him Harry was awake. 

It was not the first time that day she had 
been to the minister’s room. She had resolved 
in the watches of the night that she would dis- 
cover for herself what sort of a man was the 
stranger whom she had taken in the first night 
she came. He seemed to be all right, and he 
had helped nobly in this emergency. How, if 


196 


A DAILY BATEA^ 


he only were a Christian, how much help he 
might be with this young man. She thought 
she knew a way to discover for herself with- 
out asking him, so instead of letting Molly 
“ do his room ’’ the next morning, she attended 
to that hall herself. She knew, if he were a 
Christian, she would be likely to find evidence 
of it somewhere about his room. It therefore 
gave her much pleasure and some surprise, 
when she found on entering to make the bed, 
not only the Bible in full view, but also a 
number of what appeared to be theological 
books. She glanced them over. There was a 
row of old familiar ones, in rusty bindings, 
“ Barnes’ IN'otes ” and a few kindred commen- 
taries standing against the wall, on the floor. 
There was a soap box beside them containing 
other volumes yet unpacked, not many, but at 
the top lay two of F. B. Meyer’s, and An- 
drew Murray’s “With Christ in the School 
of Prayer.” These were dear favorites and 
friends of hers, and she began to hope that 
perhaps she was entertaining a minister. This 
hope was confirmed a few minutes afterward 
when the postman came and brought several 
letters for the Eev. Horace Stafford. She 
made his bed and set in order that room with 
a light in her face then, for was she not serv- 
ing one of her Master’s high messengers? 


A DAILY BATE. 


197 


When Mr. Stafford came in later, she had a 
short conference about young Mr. Knowles, 
and they agreed that he should go to the 
store, and after the young man awoke he 
should have a little talk with him. 

Harry lay still for some minutes reviewing 
his miserable existence, and going over the 
last few months of mistakes and sins. Sud- 
denly it occurred to him that it must be late 
and he ought to get up and go to his work. 
With a moan, he turned over and tried to get 
out of bed, but he was dizzy and sick, and he 
had to sit still and cover his eyes. He was 
not yet so used to dissipation that he could 
rise and go about like any one else the next 
day, and the dissipation had been deeper than 
he knew. What mixed or drugged glasses 
were given him, after he began to drink, he did 
not remember. Therefore, he could scarcely 
account for the effect they had had. 

Just then there came a knock at his door 
and Mr. Stafford entered. He had been lis- 
tening for some sound, and was ready. He 
wanted to help the boy when he should fully 
come to his senses and realize his condition, 
and keep him, perhaps, from rushing out to 
drink again. Of course, he knew nothing 
about Harry’s past life, but he judged from 
his appearance and from what little he could 


198 


A DAILY rate:' 


learn of his character that this was probablj^ a 
first experience, or if not the first, that at least 
he was not yet a hardened sinner. 

“ Do you feel any better ? ” asked Mr. Staf- 
ford, in a pleasant, everyday tone, such as he 
would use for any illness of any one. 

Harry looked up, his bloodshot eyes and 
white face making a pitiful picture of wretch- 
edness. 

“ I feel worse than I ever felt in my life be- 
fore,” he answered, all the bright gaiety with 
which he was usually bubbling over, gone en- 
tirely out of his voice. 

“ Better lie down again,” said his visitor. 
‘‘You are hardly able to get up yet.” 

“ But I must get up,” said Harry in a de- 
spairing tone. “ AVhat time is it ? It must be 
late. I’ll get fired if I’m not on time. They’re 
terribly particular down there.” 

“Hever mind the time. You’re not to go 
to the store to-day,” answered the other 
quietly, in a tone that seemed used to com- 
manding obedience. 

“ Why not ! ” asked Harry sharply, looking 
at Mr. Stafford with sudden apprehension in 
his eyes. Have they found out and sent me 
my walking papers already ? What time is it ? 
How long have I been here ? Let me up. But 
it’s no use if they’ve found out. I’m done for. 


DAILY RATEA^ 


199 


I might as well go to destruction first as last,” 
and he sank back with a groan and turned his 
face to the wall. 

“ Listen, my boy,” said the young minister 
bending over him and placing a kindly hand 
on his shoulder. Don’t say that. You are 
not going to destruction. We won’t let you. 
And you need not feel like that. You have 
not been dismissed. Your place is waiting for 
you when you are able to go back. The firm 
knows nothing but that you are too ill to be 
at your work to day. It is afternoon, and you 
have slept all day. You are to lie still now 
until you are perfectly able to get up, and I am 
going to take care of you. Is there anything 
you would like to have ? ” 

Harry turned over and opened his eyes in 
astonishment. 

“ How do you know I’m not to be dismissed ? 
Has any one been there ? ” 

“ Yes, I was there this morning and* had a 
good long talk with Mr. Prescott. He seemed 
very sympathetic and asked me to send him 
word, if you were not better to-morrow.” 

Harry closed his eyes and swallowed hard. 
He was almost overcome by the kindness 
that had been shown him. Suddenly, he 
remembered dimly the scene of the night be- 
fore. 


200 


‘*A DAILY BATE. 


“ Say,” said he, huskily, “ where was I, that 
is — how, what did I — do? Who was down 
there last night when I came in ? How did I 
get here ? ” 

“ I brought you up here,” answered Mr. Staf- 
ford, quietly, in a matter-of-fact tone. “ Miss 
Grant was present.” He thought it as well 
that Harry should not know that Celia had 
been there ; it could do no good and would only 
add to his embarrassment. “ You have slept 
ever since,” he finished briefly. 

“Were the boarders around? Do the}^ 
know ? ” 

“Ho.” 

There was silence a moment. Harry was 
trying to recall some faint memory. At last 
he spoke. 

“ Didn’t I, — Wasn’t Miss Murray there too ? 
Did I talk nonsense to her ? ” 

The minister turned about and faced the 
young man and said truthfully, “Yes, she was 
there, and you didn’t speak very respectfully 
to her, I must own.” 

Harry groaned again. “ Oh, she’s been very 
kind to me,” he moaned. Then after a pause. 
“ But yet they didn’t turn me out of the house. 
If they had turned me out I could have stood 
it, but I can’t stand being treated this way. I 
haven’t been treated kindly since mother died.” 


**.A DAILY BATE.” 


201 


Then his weakened nerves gave way and he 
cried, as if he had been a girl. 

Horace Stafford let him cry for a few min- 
utes. He thought it might do him good. He 
had no mind to minimize the offence. It was 
grave and serious and must be realized. 

Presently he began to talk in low, grave 
tones, and the young man on the bed ceased 
moaning and showed that he was listening. 
When he was quieter, Mr. Stafford drew from 
him as much of the story of the evening before 
as he could remember. He talked with him 
long and seriously about life and the true mean- 
ing of it, about the wonderful trust that God 
gave each one, when he-put him upon the earth 
and gave him the responsibility of doing the 
best he was capable of. He drew him on to 
speak of his mother and his boyhood life. He 
did not talk too long. This man who was a 
fisher of men had been gifted with rare tact. 
He seemed to know just what to say and when 
to say it and, what is sometimes much more 
important, he knew when to keep still. He 
gave just the right note of warning to the 
young man before him, but he knew enough of 
human nature to see at once that here was true 
repentance, and deep humiliation, and that that 
lesson did not need to be further impressed 
this time. What he needed now was kindly 


202 


A DAILY bate: 


sympathy and help to get upon his feet 
again. - 

Harry, in a pause, reverted to Celia. What 
should he do ? He never could look her in the 
face again, and she had been so kind to him. 

“ Tell her so,” said Mr. Stafford, promptly, 
as if it were the easiest thing in the world to 
do. “ Just beg her pardon as manfully as you 
can, and then look out that you are never so 
placed that you will do so again.” 

The slender frame of the young man on the 
bed shook involuntarily as he said fiercely, “ I 
should hope not.” 

There came Miss Grant’s light tap at the 
door, and a dainty tray was handed in. Harry 
thought to himself that he could not eat, that 
he never could eat again, but when the tray 
was placed in front of him, and Mr. Stafford 
said in his quiet, commanding voice, “ How eat 
every bit of that,” he found that he could. 

Miss Grant knew by instinct just what to 
prepare for the invalid. Hot dainties, and 
jellies and confectionery. Just a small, thin, 
white china bowl of very strong soup, contain- 
ing much nutrition in small compass and send- 
ing forth an odor most delicious; some thin 
beautifully toasted slices of bread, a ball of 
sweet butter and more of that black aromatic 
coffee. The minister mentally decided that 


A DAILY BATE A’ 


203 


aunt Hannah must be an expert in the culi- 
nary art. So many kind women would have 
brought forth sour bread, muddy coffee and a 
piece of dyspeptic pudding or pie or cake, or . 
perhaps tried more solid substantial foods 
where there was no appetite. He noted also 
the fineness of the napkin with which the 
tray was covered, the thin transparency of the 
china bowl, and that the spoon was apparently 
solid silver, old and thin as if it were an heir- 
loom, but bright and unmistakably of aristo- 
cratic origin and pleasant withal to use. He 
noticed these things because they had been a 
part of his former existence before he had 
given his life up to saving souls, and because 
since he came to live in boarding-houses, he 
had sometimes missed their absence in a vague, 
undefined way. He had not known that he 
cared about these little accessories of a refined 
life, but he was conscious that he recognized a 
friendly look in that spoon and bowl and fine 
linen. He did not know that these things 
were among the very few bits of home that 
Miss Grant had brought with her, and that 
she had carefully hunted them out of a trunk 
that had not yet been unpacked, because she 
felt that perhaps these dishes might help in 
the work of saving that soul. 

. Hor was she wrong. Harry knew silver 


204 


A DAILY BATE.’’ 


when he saw it. This lunch seemed like one 
his mother would have prepared for him. 

“ Now, sir,” said Mr. Stafford, as he lighted 
the gas and prepared to be cheerful while the 
young man ate his supper, “you must forget 
everything about this for a while, and just eat 
your supper and enjoy it.” He laughed pleas- 
antly, and Harry looked up with a wan smile 
and thanked him in his heart for lifting thq 
heavy burden for a few minutes. Mr. Stafford 
could talk, even if Harry just then could not, 
and he showed that he had no trouble in sum- 
moning to his command just the right thing 
at the right time. He began to tell in detail 
the story of a young man in whom he was 
interested, who had a wife and young family 
dependent upon his efforts, and who was out 
of work, and unable to find a position. He 
had spent some time that day trying to find 
him work, unsuccessfully, and he told his vari- 
ous efforts describing the different employers 
so well, that once Harry forgot his own trou- 
bles and was beguiled into a laugh. 

Celia, passing the door just then, heard them 
laughing and one more little wrinkle crept into 
her white brow of care. She thought Mr. Staf- 
ford must be a queer minister to laugh with a 
young man who had recently committed so 
grave an offence against the laws of God and 


A DAILY RATE. 


205 


of society. Poor Celia, she had had a hard 
day, what with doing her own work, and 
carrying on her heart the thought of Harry 
Knowles drunk. It was not that she cared 
more for that boy than* she would have done 
for any other, but it was the shock to her 
faith in human nature to find one whom she 
had believed to be at least tolerably good and 
interesting, suddenly appear in the condition 
in which he had been. Young people are 
often prone to look upon their faith in human 
nature as something akin to their faith in God, 
something holy and religious, which if broken 
outrages their belief almost in the kindness of 
their God. Perhaps this is the reason that 
sometimes, sweet honest souls have to pass 
through the fiery trial of believing in, even to 
loving, some human brother or sister, only to 
find them utterly false. Such need to learn 
the lesson of quaint George Herbert, that 

‘‘Even the greatest griefs 
May be reliefs, 

Could he but take them right, and in their ways. 
Happy is he whose heart 
Hath found the art 

To turn his double pains to double praise.” 


CHAPTEE XYI. 


“ It’s my opinion,” said Molly Poppleton, 
standing with her arms akimbo and facing 
Miss Grant as she entered the kitchen one 
morning shortly after breakfast, “that them 
three-cent girls need ’tendin’ to.” She set her 
lips firmly and then returned to the polishing 
of her range. 

Miss Hannah went on with her work. She 
was rubbing pumpkin through a colander and 
reducing it to the velvety texture she alwa^^s 
required in her pies. She waited calmly for 
Molly to go on with her reasons, as she knew 
she would soon. Molly finished the oven door 
and stood up again. 

“Yes, they need ’tendin’ to bad. If you’d 
just go up to their room once you’d find out. 
There’s a stack of paper novils in their closet 
knee deep, an’ there’s pictures round that 
room of women from the-«2/-tres, without much 
clo’es on, that are perfickl}^ scand’lous. Be- 
sides, they’ve got a picture of them two took 
in a tin type down to Atlantic City with bath- 
ing suits on, an’ two young fellers along side 
of ’em without much on but a little under- 
206 


A DAILY RATE.' 


207 


clo’es. They are grinning fit to kill, and look 
real silly, decent girls would have a pic- 

ture took like that, let alone keep it round in 
sight afterward.” 

“Well, Molly, you know all girls have not 
been brought up alike,” said Miss Hannah, as 
she measured out the cinnamon and ginger. 
“Molly, bring me the big yellow bowl and 
the molasses jug.” 

“ I should hope not,” said Molly, as she put 
the jug down on the table with a thump, and 
went back to her range. “ Hot like them, any- 
way. You don’t know all. They have any 
amount of little pink and blue tickets lying 
round droppin’ out of pockets and the like, an’ 
I give that one they call Mamie one I picked 
up in the hall, thinkin’ it was something valu- 
able, an’ she laughed an’ said it was no good, 
just an old the-<zy-tre ticket, been used. 'My 
land ! ’ says I, not being able to keep still. ‘ If 
all them round your room is the-ay-ivQ tickets, 
you must’ve been an awful lot ! ’ Then she 
giggled an’ got red an’ says, ‘ Yes, most every 
night now,’ an’ the other one, the one they 
call Carrie, she spoke up, and says she, ‘Yes, 
she’s got plenty of gentlemen friends, Molly, 
an' so have I,’ an’ then they both laughed and 
went out. How I s’pose it ain’t none of my 
business, but I must say them girls ought to 


208 


DAILY BATEA^ 


be back with their mothers. They can’t be 
over fifteen a day, or sixteen anyway. They 
ought to be in bed every night by nine 
o’clock. They ain’t fit to sit at the same table 
with Miss Celia with their bangs and their 
dirty teeth and black finger nails. The fact 
is I’d like to give ’em both a good bath any- 
way.” 

Molly slammed out of the kitchen and Miss 
Hannah heard her sweeping the dining-room 
with all her might and main. 

She went on measuring her milk and beat- 
ing her eggs, and fashioning the flaky crust in 
the pie pans, and thinking. The fact was she 
had been troubled about those two girls her- 
self. She felt that they needed a great deal 
of help and so far she had been utterly unable 
to approach them. They seemed shy and un- 
comfortable when she came near them, and 
had grown silent at the table, too, unless the 
tenor brakeman was present. Then the three 
carried on a bantering conversation in sup- 
pressed tones, with half glances toward the 
others. Miss Grant wondered what it was 
that there always seemed to be some people 
about her whose hearts she could not reach. 
It was just so with Hettie, she never could 
make any headway in training that child. As 
a little girl, she had been sullen and silent 


DAILY BATE:^ 


209 


when she was remonstrated with by her aunt 
for any fault, and as a young woman she had 
been impertinent and cold for days after any 
attempt on the part of aunt Hannah to change 
her plans. With Hiram too, aunt Hannah 
had felt the same repellent influence and she 
wondered why it was, though she had prayer- 
fully and conscientiously longed to be to these 
people what God wanted her to be, that she 
did not seem able to reach their hearts in any 
way. How these two girls weighed heavily 
upon her. She had watched them for days 
and had determined to make some move pretty 
soon. She felt sure there was need of help 
for them, and urgent need, far beyond what 
Molly had bluntly expressed. And while 
aunt Hannah weighed and measured and 
baked and thought, she was making in her 
mind a plan for the salvation of Mamie Wil- 
liams and Carrie Simmons. 

She had noticed Mamie several times lately 
when Celia came to the table, and she knew 
that she watched Celia intently and admired 
her afar, at least she admired her in so far as 
outward adornments were concerned. Even 
during the few weeks since aunt Hannah had 
come to Philadelphia, she had noticed the 
gradual change in Mamie’s dress, from gay 
and fussy and frivolous, to a style somewhat 


210 


A DAILY BATEA' 


more subdued and neat. She had reduced the 
baggy bunches of frizzy hair that used to pro- 
ject over her forehead and loop far down over 
her ears, till they were more like Celia’s grace- 
ful braids with a stray curl slipping out here 
and there. She still wore her many colored 
finger rings, but there were other little changes 
about her that showed she was to a certain ex- 
tent making Celia a model just now. Aunt 
Hannah’s brow cleared. She thought she 
knew a way to Mamie’s heart and perhaps 
through hers to Carrie’s. Celia had an influ- 
ence and she could help. But how to bring 
that about in the wisest way, that was aunt 
Hannah’s puzzle, for Celia was very much dis- 
gusted! with the actions of the two “three- 
centers ” as she called them. She never 
noticed them in any way, and her dignified 
bearing at the table was always meant to be a 
rebuke to them. Celia did not like those two 
girls, and while she was willing that their lives 
should be made more comfortable by their 
sharing in the good food that aunt Hannah 
now provided for Mrs. Morris’ old boarders, 
still Celia would not have felt badly to have 
had them leave that their places might be oc- 
cupied by more interesting people. 

Celia was getting to be a sort of a puzzle 


A DAILY RATE.'' 


211 


anyway. She did not enter into some things 
as her aunt had supposed she Avould. Instead 
she held aloof, and seemed troubled about 
something. She did not even make friends 
with the young minister, in whom aunt Han- 
nah saw growing possibilities of a valued 
friendship for them all. He and she had 
talked together on themes of mutual interest, 
and he had shown that he was a man of cul- 
ture and education. Aunt Hannah was not a 
match-maker, and did not immediately think 
of every young man in the light of a possible 
husband for her dear Celia, but she did have 
ambitions that Celia might have friends who 
would be helpful in every way to her, both 
spiritually and mentally, and she felt that 
such a friendship, though it were nothing 
more than occasional converse on some liter- 
ary theme, would be excellent for the young 
girl whose ambitions and abilities were so far 
beyond her opportunities. But Celia only 
smiled, and remained quiet and distant, and 
told aunt Hannah that the young minister 
belonged to her, and she must not expect 
her niece to take him on faith. Neverthe- 
less, she knew that no movement or word 
of Mr. Stafford’s at the table escaped Celia. 
It was evident that she was measuring 
him. 


212 


A DAILY EATE:^ 


Celia had not entered very heartily into the 
plans made for Harry Knowles. Slip had 
done what she was told, it was true, but she 
had not made plans herself. She seemed to 
have received a set-back on the night when 
Harry came home drunk. There had b^en 
much to do in the evenings, however, and her 
aunt had not had time to have a good long 
talk with her. She felt that it ought to come 
at once. She put the pies in the oven, closed 
the oven door carefully, and glancing at the 
clock went to her own room to kneel as was 
her custom in perplexity and lay her trouble 
all at her Master’s feet. Then she came back 
to her work about the house with calm brow 
and untroubled heart, feeling sure the way 
would be opened and words given her, if she 
must speak. She would have made a good 
model for a study of a saint as she stood beside 
the moulding board soon after and patted the 
smooth, light loaves into shape for their last 
rising, bending her sweet, thoughtful face to 
her work, her mind busy with the problems 
of souls, while she worked with her hands to 
feed their bodies. 

It was like a revelation of what God can do 
in a human soul through sorrow, to look at 
Hannah Grant and think of her past life with 
its buried and risen joys. 


DAILY BATEA^ 


213 


“ Methinks we do as fretful children do, 

Leaning their faces on the window pane 

To sigh the glass dim with their own breath’s stain, 

And shut the sky and landscape from their view. 

And thus, alas ! since God, the Maker, drew 
A mystic separation ’twixt those twain. 

The life beyond us, and our souls in pain. 

We miss the j^rospect which we’re called unto 
By grief we’re fools to use. Be still and strong, 

O man, my brother ! hold thy sobbing breath. 

And keep thy soul’s large window pure from wrong. 
That so, as life’s appointment issueth. 

Thy vision may be clear to watch along 
The sunset consummation-lights of death.” 

“ Auntie, who is the youth in the parlor so 
redolent of Hoyt’s German cologne and cigar- 
ette smoke ? ” asked Celia, gaily, coming into 
her aunt’s room just after dinner that night. 
“ You opened the door for him, you ought to 
know. I do hope he is not a new boarder, for 
I’m morally certain he wouldn’t be any help, 
and I think Ave have enough heathen to work 
for at present, don’t you ? How don’t tell me 
you called me up to ask my permission to take 
in that oily-looking youth, aunt Hannah.” 

Aunt Hannah laughed and then grew grave. 

“Ho, dear, not that,” she said, and then she 
drew the little rocker close beside her own 
and said “ Sit down, dear, I want to talk to 
you.” 

“ Why, aunt Hannah, what have I been do- 


214 


‘A DAILY RATEy 


ing that’s naughty ? ” asked Celia, pretending 
to be scared. ‘‘ This sounds like old times,” but 
she settled herself comfortably and nestled 
her head lovingly on her aunt’s shoulder. 

“Well then, first of all, Celia, why do you 
act so strangely sometimes, and what is the 
matter with Mr. Stafford ? You and he ought 
to be friends, and he could help much in the 
work you planned we should do together. 
You seem to me to have lost your interest in 
the house and everything in it, and I do not 
understand it. There is much that you could 
do and ought to do at once, and you do not 
seem to care to go about it.” 

“ Why, aunt Hannah, what has the minister 
to do with it all ? I am afraid you are mis- 
taken in him as a helper. In fact I know you 
are. I had just come home that night — the 
night after Harry had been drinking, you 
know, — and was passing the door, and I heard 
Mr. Stafford’s laugh, and then I heard Harry 
laugh, too, and I couldn’t help hearing that 
Mr. Stafford was telling a funny story to 
Harry as I went on up the hall. How just 
think of that after what had happened. A 
pretty minister he is, I think. He ought to 
have been preaching a sermon.” 

“Celia I Take care how you judge without 
knowing. You cannot tell what may have 


‘M DAILY RATE.^^ 


215 


been the pointed moral of the funny story, 
and you do not know but the Lord could use 
a laugh just then to help that young man bet- 
ter than anything else, and he doubtless put it 
into the heart of his servant to know that. I 
believe that man has rare tact in winning 
souls. Be very careful, and be very slow ever 
to criticise the actions of administer. His 
office brings him nearer to God than most 
men.” 

Celia’s cheeks flushed a little. She was 
slightly annoyed to have her aunt speak in 
that way, but she respected the elder woman’s 
opinion too much to resent the words or refuse 
the lesson. After a moment she said ; 

“Well, aunt Hannah, maybe I have been 
wrong, I’ll try to be good.” In her heart 
Celia had another reason for her dignified 
coldness toward the minister. She had rec- 
ognized, after a few days, that he was a man 
of unusual education and refinement. She 
immediately began to wonder whether or not 
he looked down upon her, a saleswoman in a 
store, a poor girl, who had to earn her own 
living. She settled it in her mind that he 
probably did in a certain undefined way, 
though he probably did not confess such 
things to himself as that might have conflicted 
with certain Christian theories he felt himself 


216 


A DAILY bate:'' 


bound to abide by. She told herself that he 
should see that she never expected anything 
in the way of courtesy even from him, and 
that she was one girl in the world, who was 
not ready to fling herself forward for com- 
panionship with any desirable young man that 
should chance to be thrown in her neighbor- 
hood. She had been still further strength- 
ened in her determination by a little occur- 
rence one evening a few days before this talk 
with her aunt. 

The minister had gone to prayer meeting, 
having been busily engaged in his room all 
day, so that aunt Hannah had not been able to 
finish certain dusting and setting to rights 
there as thoroughly as she desired. The even- 
ing had found her hands full of some kitchen 
work, and she had requested Celia to slip up 
there when the halls were quiet, while the oc- 
cupant of the room was in meeting and finish 
the dusting. Celia had been* glad to help. 
She had turned the gas up and gone to work 
in earnest, glancing interestedly at the rows 
of books over the little table against the wall, 
and wishing she had opportunity to look them 
over, but she would not put so much as a hand 
upon them except to do her necessary work, in 
the absence of their owner. When she came to 
the bureau she had to move some things to 


DAILY bate:' 


217 


wipe the dust off beneath them. A Bible was 
lying there open before a painted miniature of 
a most lovely young woman. The pictured 
face was so beautiful that she could not but 
look at it again as she carefully wiped the 
dust from the velvet and gold of its case. The 
blue eyes and golden hair and the sweet intel- 
lectual face stayed in her memory, and from 
the fact that the miniature stood open before 
his Bible, she judged it was of some one quite 
near and dear. Celia did not reason it out in 
Avords, but she thought it well that she should 
maintain a maidenly dignity. However, as 
her aunt talked, she saw that she had carried 
this feeling to an absurd extremity. AVhat 
was it to her what the young man thought, or 
how many velvet-framed girls he carried in 
his pocket next his heart ? She was in the 
same house with him and must treat him Avith 
Christian courtesy, and she need not neces- 
sarily make herself prominent before his eyes 
either. She Avould try to do differently. He 
should henceforth be as one of the other 
boarders to her. 

“ What else, auntie ? ” she asked, after a 
minute of thought, looking up. 

“Harry, next,” said her aunt. “You ought 
to interest him in something occasionally, as 
you once told me you did in a lamp. He is 


218 


A DAILY bate:* 


having a very hard struggle to keep away 
from those companions who are after him 
every day now, Mr. Stafford says. He does 
all he can for him, but you know his meetings 
occupy so many evenings that he can do very 
little and he hasn’t thought it" wise to try to 
take him to church yet. You know he’s noth- 
ing but a boy. He wants to be interested in 
something.” 

“ Yes,” said Celia, “ I know. I’ll try. But, 
auntie, I can’t forget how he looked that 
night,” and she shuddered. “But I’ll try to 
get up something to help and that right away. 
How what else? You always save the worst 
dose till the last, I know you of old. Which 
is it? Miss Burns or the tenor brakeman? 
Or — O auntie^ now it isn’t those three-centers ! 
Don’t tell me to try to do something for them, 
for I can’t,” and the girl put up her hands in 
mock horror. 

Miss Grant detailed to her what she knew 
of them, including an account of Molly’s mor- 
alizing on the subject, and Celia laughed, and 
then grew grave. 

There came a call to the kitchen for Miss 
Grant then and she left Celia thinking. When 
she returned a few minutes later she was 
greeted with “ Aunt Hannah, are those boards 
still in the cellar ? Are they of any use there ? 


“ J DAILY rate:' 


219 


Because if they are not I’m going to make a 
oozy corner in the parlor if you don’t object. 
I’ve thought of a beautiful way. Harry will 
help, I’m sure. He sat in the parlor looking 
glum when I came up. Do you suppose I 
must get the three-centers to help? Would 
they come, do you think ? And say, by the 
way, auntie, who did you say that oily youth 
in the parlor was ? ” 

“ His name, he said, was Mr. Clarence 
Jones and he asked for Miss Simmons. I 
called her and I think she went out with him, 
for I don’t see either of them about. I don’t 
know whether Mamie AVilliams is in her room 
or not. I think it would be a good plan to 
see. By all means make as many cozy corners 
as you please, dear, and the boards are of no 
use to me.” 

Celia departed to find her helpers, and Miss 
Hannah locked the door and prayed for them 
before she went about darning some table- 
cloths. 


CHAPTER XYII. 


“How, Harry, where are you going?’’ said 
Celia, with dismay in her voice, as she ran 
down the stairs and saw that young man with 
his overcoat on and his hat in his hand just 
opening the front door. 

He started and looked guilty as she spoke. 
In truth, he had been sitting in the parlor for 
an hour trying to keep himself in the house, 
and away from an especially alluring evening 
the boys had held out as bait ; and one, too, 
which seemed, from their account of it, to be 
perfectly harmless. 

He hesitated and stammered out : 

“ Howhere, I guess,” and then laughed and 
sat down in the hall chair. “ Is there anything 
I can do for you. Miss Murray ? The fact is I 
don’t quite know what to do with myself to- 
night, for some reason.” 

Celia’s heart filled with pity for the poor 
lonely fellow and with remorse that she had 
not sooner attempted to do something to cheer 
him up. 

“ Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, earnestly, with 
a true ring to her voice which he recognized 
220 


DAILY RATE.^'> 


221 


at once. “ But if you are lonesome and really 
have nothing pressing to do, why take off your 
coat and come and help me carry out a scheme. 
I’m going to make a cozy corner in the parlor. 
In fact, I think I’ll make two, one in the bay , 
window and one over there by the organ. 
Will you help? You’re such a good carpenter, 
you know, and this parlor does look so bare 
and desolate.’^ 

‘‘All right, I’m with you,” answered the 
young man, taking off his overcoat with alac- 
rity. “ Only tell me what to do. I don’t 
know the first thing about cozy corners, but if 
you know as much as you did about lamps. 
I’ll be willing to say they’ll be a success. 
Let’s have a half-dozen of ’em if you say so. 
I^ow what’ll I do first ? ” 

“ Bring that lamp and come down into the 
cellar. Wait, I don’t know whether you can do 
it alone, they are pretty heavy and there are a 
good many. Perhaps Mr. Hartley or Mr. Os- 
born would help a minute in bringing up the 
boards. I’ll show you what we want first, and 
then you can pick out the right boards. You 
see I want a good firm seat here in the bay 
window to fill the whole place to the edge of 
the window frames either side, just a foot from 
the floor, so, and then I want another over 
here, to reach from here to here, so wide, and 


222 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


the same height from the floor. Here is my 
tape measure. How you can pick out your 
lumber.’’ Celia moved about the dull unin- 
teresting parlor, furnishing it with gesture 
and imagination, till the young carpenter was 
quite interested. He called the two young 
men upstairs, who came willingly and helped 
for a few minutes showing not a little interest 
and curiosity in the undertaking. They all 
lingered with advice and offers to help, and 
when Celia had seen the carpentry work well 
started, she ran upstairs and knocked at the 
door of the two young girls. 

“ Come in,” drawled the voice of some one 
chewing, and after a moment’s hesitation she 
entered. 

Mamie Williams lay across the foot of the 
bed, the two pillows and a comforter under 
her head, the gas turned as high as it would 
go, and a paper covered volume in her hand. 
She w'as chewing gum. When she saw that 
it was Celia who had entered, her tone of in- 
difference changed to one of pleased surprise. 
She sat up quickly and hid her book beneath 
the pillows. Then she put her hand up to 
straighten her hair. 

“ Why, is it you ! ” she exclaimed, and Celia 
knew that her aunt’s conjecture that she was 
admired by this girl was true, from the evi- 


DAILY BATEA^ 


223 


dent pleasure the visit gave. This unbent 
Celia still more, and she tried to be winning. 
When Celia tried she was very winning in- 
deed. 

“We are having some fun downstairs fixing 
up that old barn of a parlor,” she explained, 
still standing by the door, though her hostess 
had slipped from the bed and cleared a chair 
from a pile of clothing thrown upon it. “ I 
thought maybe you would like to help. Is 
your friend here ? ” 

“ 1^0, she ain’t, she’s gone out with a gen- 
tleman friend,” said Mamie, with a conscious 
giggle. “ It’s a wonder you found me in. I’m 
mostly out when she is. Sit down, can’t you ? 
I’m real glad you come up, I was lonesome. 
The book I had wasn’t any account either. 
What did you say you was doing ? ” 

Celia essayed to explain and succeeded in 
interesting Mamie to the extent that she 
hunted out her thimble from a mass of ribbons 
and collars tumbled into a bureau drawer, and 
went downstairs to see what was going on, 
though she confessed she was not much used 
to doing things like that. 

They went to work in good earnest. Celia 
had some printed burlap, which she had 
brought home from the store one night to 
make curtains for an improvised clothespress, 


224 


A DAILY BATEA^ 


in her room. It was cheap and there was 
plenty of it. The clothespress could wait. 
Those cozy corners must be finished to-night, 
at least as far as possible. She gave the tick 
of the cushions to Mamie to run the seams, 
while she applied herself to sewing the burlap 
cover for it. Meanwhile, the hammering and 
sawing and directing went forward, and by 
half-past nine when Mr. Stafford opened the 
front door and came in there were two very 
solid looking rough wooden shelves a foot 
from the floor, in the parlor, one occupying 
the entire bay window space in the front of 
the room, the other one being at the further 
end of the room. To the sides of this Harry 
Knowles was just nailing some more boards to 
serve as ends, under the supervision of the 
other two young men, while Celia and Mamie 
were upon their knees in front of the bay 
window tacking the dark blue burlap printed 
in a heraldic design, in a pleated valance. A 
nearly completed cushion lay beside them on 
the floor, but not tied as yet. Mr. Stafford, 
attracted by the unusual noises, entered the 
room and stood behind them looking at the 
work a moment. Then, as Celia turned from 
the valance and attempted to thread a large 
needle with a cord and then vainly endeavored 
to pull its short proportions through the thick 


“-4 DAILY RATEA' 


225 


cushion, which had been stuffed with excelsior 
and a layer of cotton on the top, he said 
quietly : 

“ You need an upholsterer’s needle for that. 
Miss Murray. I think I have one upstairs 
that we used in fixing up the pulpit chairs at 
the mission. I’ll go and get it.” 

Celia was pleased that he entered into the 
work and thanked him. As he turned toward 
Harry, he said, “ Knowles, why don’t you put 
springs in ? It would be twice as comfortable.” 

“ Springs ! ” said Harry jumping up and 
facing round. “ Do you expect us to turn into 
upholsterers the first night ?” and he laughed 
good-naturedly. 

“Ho, but indeed it isn’t a difficult job,” ex- 
plained the minister, “you just have to tie 
them down firmly. I’ll show you if you don’t 
mind running out with me to that little up- 
holsterer’s aroiyid the corner. I think it’s 
open yet. It was when I came by. The peo- 
ple live over the store and they don’t shut up 
shop early.” 

“ By all means, let us have springs,” an- 
swered Celia to Harry’s look of enquiry, “ I 
didn’t look for such luxury as that, but we 
will take what grandeur we can get.” Her 
cheeks had grown red with excitement, and 
her eyes were shining. The minister, as he 


226 


DAILY EATE.’^ 


turned to go on his self-appointed errand, was 
reminded of the first evening he had come to 
that house. Harry and Mr. Stafford were 
soon back with several sets of springs and the 
three young men, with Celia demurely in the 
background, took a lesson in putting in springs, 
which they found to be not such a very diffi- 
cult matter after all. The minister had not 
forgotten to get some small dark blue cotton 
upholstery buttons when he was out, and 
Mamie and Celia soon learned how to use the 
queer double pointed needle and tie the cusliion 
with the little buttons. Altogether it looked 
very pretty, and quite like real upholsterer’s 
work when it was finished. 

In spite of the proverbial “ many hands ” 
and “ light work,” it was nearly eleven o’clock 
when the two seats were finished, and a light 
frame work over the seat in the back end of 
the parlor erected. Miss Hannah had come 
down to send them all to bed, but found them 
in a state of childish enthusiasm to see their 
Avork completed. Celia had remembered that 
she had upstairs two or three pieces of plain 
and printed denim and some turkey red calico. 
Mounted on the stepladder beside the canopy 
frame, she deftly draped the rough Avood, 
being materially assisted by Mr. Stafford who 
seemed to understand Avhat she wanted to do, 


DAILY rate:'' 


227 


and to be able to drape a graceful fold of 
cloth, if he was only a man, and that a minis- 
ter. He, by way of contribution, brought 
down a Chinese sword made of coins which 
the Chinese use as a talisman, for the purpose 
of frightening away evil spirits, and hung it 
above the drapery. This roused the others to 
emulate his example. The university student 
thought he knew where he could get a couple 
of Arabic spears to help out that canopy 
drapery, and Harry Knowles declared he 
would hunt around and find one of those dull 
old filigree bull’s-eye lanterns that hang by 
long chains from the centre. Mamie said her 
contribution should be a couple of sofa pillows, 
and Celia promised to make some more. Miss 
Burns, coming in just then looking weary and 
worn, brightened as she came into the parlor 
and exclaimed over the new furnishings, 
“ They are simply, — now — simply— — aren’t 
they. Miss Grant ? Indeed they are ! What 
wonderful taste and shill has been exhibited 
here ! I declare it is simply marvelous ! 
Simply fine ! 1 xh\.qq 6.— indeed— ii is ! ” she gig- 
gled wearily. She asked permission to con- 
tribute a pillow also. 

“How we need a low bookcase running 
along that wall and turning that corner,” said 
the minister, as they turned to go to their 


228 


A DAILY BATE.” 


rooms. Can’t you manage that, Knowles ? ” 
and Celia’s eyes sparkled over the idea. The 
minister evidently understood esthetics any- 
way. The bookcase would be a great addition. 
She went upstairs so excited over her new 
work she could hardly sleep. She had almost 
forgotten her three-cent protegee, till Mamie 
squeezed her hand over the stair railing and 
said, “ Good-night, Miss Murray, I’ve enjoyed 
myself ever so much. And say, would you 
mind coming into my room a few minutes to- 
morrow night ? I want to ask you some ques- 
tions very particular.” 

Celia promised readily enough, though the 
prospect was not a pleasant one, but she had 
made up her mind to try to help this girl, so 
she might as well accept the situation and the 
opportunity together. 

But aunt Hannah sat up that night till 
nearly one o’clock, and looked over the stair 
railing till she heard the night key click, and 
saw the befeathered hat of Carrie Simmons as 
she came airily in. 

“ Poor child ! ” murmured the watcher, as she 
turned out the hall light and went to bed, 
“ something must be done ! Out till one 
o’clock and with that kind of a young man ! ” 

The next morning she noticed that Carrie 
had dark rings under her eyes, and was devel- 


DAILY BATE, 


229 


oping thin, sharp lines about her nose and 
mouth, which did not add beauty to her pert, 
weak face. 

The next evening as Celia started for Mamie 
Williams’ room, Carrie having again departed 
with the aforementioned youth, aunt Hannah 
called her. Celia dear, two things,” she* 
said, with her hand on Celia’s arm. “ Don’t for- 
get to pray before you go, and if you get a 
chance mention soap and water. Don’t forget 
that cleanliness is next to godliness. Perhaps 
in this case it comes first.” Celia laughed and 
said, “ All right, auntie,” and went back to her 
room to take the first advice given. 

Reinforced by a turning of her heart to her 
heavenly Father for guidance, she went to her 
unpleasant task, her mind more than half full 
of the new bookcase and some other plans she 
had for the adornment of the parlor. The 
minister seemed to have taken Harry Knowles 
away with him immediately after dinner, so 
she had no one to help her carry out any par- 
lor schemes just at present, and she could not 
help being disappointed that she must turn 
aside to another piece of work. 

Mamie was evidently expecting her this 
time. She had given the room some semblance 
of a clearing up : that is, she had picked up 
Carrie’s old store dress from the floor where 


230 


A DAILY RATE. 


she left it, and tumbled everything that was 
out of place on the bureau and table into a 
drawer, for the confusion of some future hour 
of need. 

She seemed to be in earnest, and plunged at 
once into her subject when she had seated 
Celia. 

“ Say, I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind 
telling me how you do it. You see I thought 
you wasn’t any more pretty than I, and you 
haven’t got expensive clo’es, but you manage 
somehow to look awful stylish and pretty in 
spite of it. I know it takes a knack, but don’t 
you think I could learn ? I’ve been trying 
ever since you came here to do my hair the 
way you do, but I can’t make it act right. I 
thought maybe you wouldn’t mind doing it a 
few times for me, to get me started, and per- 
haps you could tell me what the difference is 
between you and me. I know it ain’t very 
polite to ask you things like this, but I thought 
you was so kind last night asking me to help 
that I’d just be bold and ask you. You ain’t 
mad, are you ? ” 

Celia ignored the doubtful compliments and 
tried to smile, albeit her very soul shrank 
within her. What, handle the coarse greasy 
hair of that girl who seemed actually dirty to 
hey ? How could she ? Surely the Lord did 


DAILY RATEy 


231 


not require that sacrifice. Why had she un- 
dertaken this task anywray ? It was dreadf ul. 
She half rose from her chair, as she began to 
foresee the magnitude of the possible propor- 
tions of this proposition. What might she 
not be asked to do ? Then she remembered 
whose she was and whom she served, and sank 
back again in her chair, putting up a petition 
for help to her heavenly Father. 

“ Wliat is prayer ? . . . 

’Tis the telegraphic cord, 

Holding converse with the Lord ; 

’Tis the key of promise given 
Turning in the lock of heaven.” 


CHAPTEE XYIII. 


“ Do you think I’m too homely to fix up ? ” 
anxiously asked Mamie, as her visitor did not 
at once respond. 

“ Oh no, indeed ! ” said Celia laughing, “ I 
was only trying to think how to answer you, 
and it’s so funny for you to want to copy me. 
I have never tried to be ‘ pretty ’ as you call 
it. I only tried to be clean and neat, and have 
things look as nice as I could without spend- 
ing much money. But now that you’ve asked 
me, if you really want to know how 3^ou could 
improve your appearance, in my eyes at least. 
I’ll try to tell you a few things. What is it 
that troubles you most? We’ll begin with 
that.” 

“ Oh my sakes ! ” giggled Mamie. “ There’s 
so many things. Well, my hands and my feet. 
They’re so big, and in the way. My hands are 
red and rough and bony, and my face is al- 
ways breaking out in little ugly black pimples, 
and my hair won’t get into any shape I Avant 
it to, and my teeth aren’t pretty, and then of 
course my clothes, and I just wish I could 
walk across a room like you,” she finished with 
a sigh. 

232 


A DAILY BATEA' 


233 


Celia laughed and began, 

“Your hands,” she said, “let me see them.” 
She turned up the gas and surveyed them crit- 
ically a moment, while Mamie waited in 
breathless anxiety comparing her red, beringed 
fingers to Celia’s small white ones. 

“Well, if I were you I would take all those 
rings off first,” said Celia, decidedly. “ They 
look gaudy and out of place, except perhaps 
on a woman in society, and even then I should 
prefer to see Just one or two at a time, and 
not a whole jewelry store at once.” 

Mamie looked disappointed. She drew them 
off slowly. “ I thought they were pretty,” 
she said, the least bit of dismay in her voice. 
“ Don’t you like any rings ? ” 

“Not for young girls, — ^unless they mean 
something. Have you any that have tender 
associations ? ” 

“ Some,” simpered Mamie looking conscious. 

Celia ignored or did not understand this 
answer. “ Which one ? ” she asked. “ Did 
your mother, or father, or brother, or sister 
give it to you ? ” 

Mamie blushed. “ Well, yes, I have got one 
ma give me, but it isn’t any of them. It’s a 
little plain gold thing, looks kind of out of 
style now. I don’t wear it any more.” 

“ I’d wear that one,” said the oracle, “ and 


234 


A DAILY bate:: 


put the others all away. You’re too young to 
have rings given you to wear by strangers, 
^^’ow about training those hands, I can give 
you some little exercises that tliey gave me 
when I was taking music lessons, which I 
think help the hands to be graceful. First, if 
I were you, I would go into the bathroom and 
give them a good washing in hot soap suds, 
finishing off with cold water. That will make 
them more pliable. Have you a nail brush ? 
You ought to have one. There is nothing 
like it for making the nails look rosy. I sup- 
pose you find great trouble in keeping them 
clean, working all day, don’t you ? I do. 
But a nail brush makes the work much easier. 
I would cut the nails more in this shape if I 
were you, see ? ” and Celia held out one sea- 
shell tipped hand to be inspected. 

When the hands were duly scrubbed, Celia 
gave her a short lesson in Delsarte, an exer- 
cise for each joint of the finger and hand. 
Mamie’s eyes sparkled and she proved herself 
an apt pupil. “ ISTow,” said Celia, “ practice 
that, but be sure you never do it where any 
one can see you. It will have its effect on 
your movements in time, but never practice in 
public. Don’t think about your hands. That’s 
the best way to do. If they are clean they 
will take care of themselves, and the more you 


DAILY rate:' 


235 


think about tliem and think how awkward 
they are, the more awkward they become. 
Did you never try making people stop staring 
at you by looking hard at their feet in the 
street cars? Well, try it some time. It is 
'Very funny. I have been annoyed once or 
twice by somebody staring at me till I was 
very uncomfortable. I remembered what I 
had read somewhere, and looked down at their 
feet as if I was very much interested in them. 
They very soon took their eyes from me and 
began to draw their feet back out of sight and 
to fidget around and wonder what was the 
matter with their shoes.” 

Mamie laughed and looked at her new 
teacher with admiration. She began to think 
she had made a mistake in saying Celia was 
not pretty. 

“ How the complexion,” began Celia again 
in a business-like tone. “ Your general health 
will affect that. You ought not to eat much 
fat or sweets for one thing, and you ought to 
bathe all over every day and rub your skin 
till it’s all in a glow. That will make a great 
difference in the complexion. How often do 
you bathe ? ” 

“ Oh my ! ” gasped Mamie, “ I do hate to 
take a bath. Why, ma used always to scrub 
us children all around oncet a week, and I 


236 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


s’pose I’d ought to keep that up, but some- 
times I do skip a week, it’s so dreadful cold in 
the morning.” 

“Well, if I were you I would bathe every 
day, for a while anyway. You don’t know 
what a lot of good it will do you, and after a 
while you Avill get to love it. Once a weelc 
you ought to have a thorough wash with 
warm water and plenty of soap, and finish off 
with a cold dash, and a good hard rub, and 
then every morning take a sponge off in cool 
water and a good rubbing. That you will 
find will make your comjDlexion very differ- 
ent. Then I would give the face some treat- 
ment of hot and cold water. Wash it in water 
just as hot as you can stand it every morning 
and then in very cold. That will make your 
cheeks have some color, too, I think. As for 
your teeth, let me see them. Oh, Mamie, it’s 
too bad to let such nice even teeth get into 
such a condition. They are hopelessly black, 
and you can’t get them white yourself. Do 
you brush them every day, after every meal ? ” 

“ My land, no ! ” exclaimed Mamie. “ What 
an awful nuisance that would be ! I never 
had a tooth brush but once, and then Carrie 
used it to scrub the ink off her fingers when 
she was going to the theatre.” 

Celia could scarcely repress the exclamation 


A DAILY RATE:^ 


237 


of disgust that rose to her lips on this an- 
nouncement, but Mamie was luckily too in- 
terested in her own words to hear. 

“ Don’t you think I could ever do anything 
with my teeth ? ” 

“ Why yes, you must go to a dentist at once 
and have them attended to. They need a 
good cleaning, and while you are there you 
ought to have him go over your teeth and put 
them in first-class order. It doesn’t pay to let 
your teeth go before you are a woman yet. 
He will tell you how to take care of them. 
You ought not to eat much candy or to chew 
gum. That injures the teeth.” 

“ Oh ! ” said Mamie, in a sort of despair. 
“ You don’t have much fun, do you, if you try 
to do all them things ? But I don’t mind, for 
I do want to look pretty, an’ I’m. willin’ for it 
all, if it’ll do any good.” 

Celia’s pulses quickened, for she thought if 
this girl would do so much for the outward 
adorning, perhaps she might be able some 
time to persuade her to do as much for the 
beautiful inward adorning of a meek and quiet 
spirit which is in the sight of God of great price. 

“ Then your hair,” went on Celia, “ needs to 
be washed often. I would wash it first with 
powdered borax in the water. It isn’t good 
to use borax often, for it makes the hair so 


238 


DAILY RATE,''> 


brittle it breaks, but it will take out the extra 
oil now, and that is what you need. Then it 
will need to be thoroughly rinsed, and dried 
and combed. After that you can do almost 
anything you want to with it. I’ll let you 
watch me do mine once, and then you will see 
how it is done. That is the best way to learn. 
And then about your dress, why that is a long 
subject. You will need to take a lot of time 
for that. You’ll have to decide things one at 
a time. One rule I go by, in buying. I never 
buy a thing that is in the very extreme of 
fashion, because for one reason it will look 
queer very soon, and for another it is sure to 
be poor material, or else it is very expensive. 
It is always best to get good material. The 
plainer things are the better, you can be sure, as 
a general rule. Then you ought to study your 
complexion and eyes and buy things to become 
you. You will excuse me, if I mention the 
necktie you have on. I don’t tliink you ought 
ever to wear that color. Cerise may be be- 
coming to some people with dark eyes and a 
very clear complexion, but it ought not to be 
worn by blue-eyed people with light brown 
hair. Dark blue would be more becoming to 
you. Then too, I think a necktie is an unbe- 
coming thing on you, anyway. You would 
look much better in a close, round collar.” 


DAILY RATE.'' 


239 


Mamie looked down at her cherished silk 
scarf, to be able to buy which she had gone 
without new stockings for some time. Her 
mind was something akin to the maiden’s 
about whom our grandmothers used to tell, 
who said : “ I ken wear my palm-leaf and go 

bare-footed, but I must have a buzzom pin.” 

Celia’s zeal was perhaps on the eve of getting 
the better of her wisdom. She was growing 
interested in making over this girl as her aunt 
Avas interested in making over Mrs. Morris’ 
boarding-house, and she forgot that there were 
probably a long line of prejudices to be over- 
come before the girl would be willing to walk 
in the way laid out for her, even though she 
had asked to be directed in that path. It 
would look thorny to her at first. 

“ Mamie,” she said, seeing the downcast ex- 
pression on the young girl’s face, “ don’t get 
discouraged with all these new things. You 
can’t do every one of them right at' first, but, 
do you know, I think it makes a great differ- 
ence when people try to be and look the best 
that is in them. You must not think you are 
a homely looking girl. You are not. You 
Avere meant to be a pretty one, and I think 
you can make yourself look ever so much pret- 
tier, I do indeed. How I wonder if you would 
be willing to do something just to please me.” 


240 


A DAILY rate:' 


“ Why of course I would ! ” said Mamie, 
readily enough and brightening up at the en- 
couraging words. “What is it ? You’ve been 
awful kind to me and I sha’n’t forget it, Miss 
Murray,” she added. 

“ Well then, it is this. You see out in Clov- 
erdale, where I used to live, I belonged to a 
little society of girls. We were each pledged 
to read one verse of the Bible every day, and 
to pray every day, and when some of us left 
the home and the society, we each promised to 
try and get up another band where we were 
going, even if we could get but one other per- 
son to join it. Now I was wondering if you 
wouldn’t join it to start my new circle ? We 
called ourselves the Bible Band. I believe 
there are a good many such bands all over 
the country. We have this little gold badge. 
Isn’t it pretty?” and Celia held out a tiny 
scarf pin with a pendant gold heart, on which 
were the letters engraved B. B. “If you will 
join us, I’ll give you this pin of mine, and I 
can send and get another.” 

Mamie grew interested as soon as she saw 
the pin. Jewelry of all sorts was attractive 
to her. It would be quite delightful to appear 
in the store with a new pin on, engraved with 
mysterious letters, and let the girls and the 
young men there try to guess what they 


A DAILY RATE.^^ 


241 


meant. Of course she didn’t need to tell them 
if she didn’t want to. She asked again what 
would be required of her, though Mamie be- 
longed to the class, from which are derived so 
many untrue members of the Christian En- 
deavor societies, and, sad to say, also of the 
church ; that class who are eager and willing 
to join anything, and care very little what 
obligations they thus take upon themselves; 
as little as they care when they break these 
solemn vows. To such, indeed, might apply 
the many and various arguments against 
pledge taking, not because pledge taking is 
bad, but because the pledgers themselves are 
not made to understand the solemnity of the 
pledge they take. Mamie cared very little 
what pledge she took, so long as the perform- 
ing of it might be done in private and at her 
own discretion. She did not stop to think 
long, but accepted the pledge card and donned 
the pin with pride, thanking Celia. 

“ Though I ain’t much of a hand at pra^dn’, 
Miss Murray, I never could think of anything 
to say when I was a little girl, and ma used to 
make us say our prayers every Saturday night. 
I guess I could learn a prayer and say the same 
one every time, if that would do. You write 
me out one, can’t you ? ’Course I’ll do it to 
please you, you’ve been so good to me, and 


242 


A DAILY EATE:^ 


I’m awfully obliged for this pin. It’s a beauty, 
and won’t I have fun to-morrow at the store 
with it ? Say, I don’t mind telling you why 
I want all this fixin’ up to be pretty, you 
know. You won’t tell Carrie, will you? I 
wouldn’t have her know, for the first you’d 
see her settin’ up to the same thing. Why, 
you see it’s this way. There’s a new boss to 
our store. The head of the firm’s going out to 
Chicago, and he’s put this feller, Mr. Adams, 
Harold Adams his name is, in at the head. 
He’s only just nineteen or twenty, though he 
made them think he was twenty-one, but he’s 
dreadful smart. His father’s been at the head 
of a three-cent store in Baltimore for a long 
time, and he kind of growed up in the business. 
He’s handsome, too, and everybody likes him, 
and the girls will just stand on their heads to 
please him, and you see he’s been payin’ me 
attention for four weeks now, takin’ me to 
theatres, and gettin’ me flowers and candy, 
and all the other girls was hoppin’ mad. 
They’ve just done everything they could to 
get him to look at them, but he never did till 
there come a new girl to the china teacup 
counter. She has gold hair and I believe she 
paints her cheeks, and she’s awful stylish, and 
has the littlest mite of a waist, and he’s just 
gone clean crazy over her. He’s nice to me 


DAILY RATE. 


243 


yet, but she gets half the flowers noAv, and I 
want to get him back. You see, I don’t mind 
telling you I’m in love with him myself, and 
of course I ain’t willin’ to just give him up 
without tryin’, so I made up my mind if I 
could get to be good lookin’ an’ stylish, maybe 
I could do something.” 

Before Celia had time to collect her thoughts, 
and say something in response to this startling 
disclosure, there came a hurried knock at the 
door, and Molly Poppleton’s strong voice de- 
manded, “ Is Miss Celia there ? Miss Hannah, 
she wants her right away bad. That old lady 
upstairs’s got a fainting spell. She says to 
come right away.” 

Celia dropped everything and ran. She 
wondered afterward if the heavenly Father 
arranged that call to her for just that moment 
on purpose to prevent her saying anything to 
Mamie, for she felt sure if she had spoken 
then she would have expressed her mind in 
what might have proved, for the sake of her 
influence on the girl, the wrong words. 

‘ ‘ Blind unbelief is sure to err, 

And scan his work in vain; 

God is his own interpreter, 

And he will make it plain.” 


CHAPTEE XIX. 


Old Mrs. Belden was made comfortable at 
last. It appeared that she had worked too 
hard for the last three Aveeks, sitting up far 
into the night to finish an order. She Avas a 
knitter of fancy hoods, sacques, socks and mit- 
tens. Miss Hannah, Avhile she ministered to 
her, heard a feeble account of the poor soul’s 
life. Her husband and her children Avere all 
dead, except one boy who was a sailor, and 
who, perhaps, might be dead, too, for she had 
not heard from him for over four years. She 
resorted to the only thing she kneAV how to do 
to earn her living, and it had been pretty hard 
work sometimes, though, perhaps, no harder 
than many another Avoman had to do. She 
Avas very thankful for the good food Avhich 
had come in with the advent of Miss Grant. 
She murmured her gratitude in an apologetic 
Avay for everything that Avas done for her, and 
said she did not see why they made so much 
trouble, they might just as Avell have let her 
slip quietly aAvay, if it had been* the Lord’s 
Avill. Her life Avasn’t Avorth much anyway, 
and she Avas only making a lot of trouble that 
244 


A DAILY EATEI^ 


245 


would all have to be done over again pretty 
soon, maybe. Miss Hannah and Celia had 
looked about the room and resolved that there 
should be more comforts there before another 
night, and Avhen she was at last ready for 
sleep, and they felt sure that all she needed to 
restore her to her usual health was a good 
rest, they left her, with a promise from Molly 
Poppleton, whose room was next to Mrs. Bel- 
den’s, that she would sleep with one ear open 
and step in occasionally to see that she was 
all right and give her anything she needed. 

Celia sat down on the bed and rested her 
forehead on the footboard, after she and her 
aunt had gone to their room for the night. 

“Aunt Hannah,” she said, “I’m just dis- 
couraged. There are so many things to worry 
about in the world I don’t see how I can keep 
from it.” 

“ Celia ! Celia ! ” said aunt Hannah, laying 
her hand on the brown head bent on the foot- 
board, “is my little girl questioning the wis- 
dom of God? You sound like a little child, 
to-night, who thinks his parents cruel that 
they will not give him fire to play with. Ee- 
member that God knows all, and that he does 
all for good. It may be that old lady needs 
just the kind of thing she is going through 
now to fit her for heaven. I do not know 


246 


DAILY BATE." 


whether she is getting ready for heaven or 
not. Maybe God had to call her to himself 
by taking all her dear ones first, or maybe she 
is set to be a help to some one else, — perhaps 
you. Does my little girl doubt him because 
she cannot see and understand ? Oh, Celia ! 
You will grieve him.” 

‘‘ Well, auntie, I did not quite mean all that, 
of course, only I am so tired and disheartened. 
I meant to try to plan a grill work for the par- 
lor to-night, and I couldn’t find Harry at all. 
I am afraid he has gone out again with those 
dreadful fellows. What is the use in trying 
to do anything with setbacks all the time ? ” 

“ But your heavenly Father had another plan 
for you to-night, and the parlor can wait, you 
know. As for Harry, I think he is safe in his 
room by this time. He went out with the 
minister, and while you were up with Mrs. 
Belden they came in with a lot of boards and 
screws and a saw and hammer and a pot of 
varnish, and they went to work in good ear- 
nest. The other young men went down and 
helped, and in the morning I think you will 
find something new in the parlor. Didn’t you 
smell new varnish ? They asked for you be- 
fore they began, but I told them how you were 
occupied and said I was sure you would want 
them to go ahead and not wait for you.” 


A DAILY RATE:'^ 


247 


Celia sat up and smiled through her tears. 

‘‘Did they really, auntie? How nice! 
AVhat did they make? A bookcase? I am 
sure it must have been that, for Mr. Stafford 
-spoke of it, and asked me if I did not like the 
low kind running around the room. I am so 
glad. And Harry stayed in ! I was afraid he 
was with those awful young men again.” 

She brushed away the tears and began to 
take down her hair, when she remembered 
another discouragement. 

“ Oh, aunt Hannah,” she said, “ but you 
don’t know what an utter failure my three- 
cent enterprise was,” and she gave a detailed 
account of her interview with Mamie Wil- 
liams. 

Miss Grant listened intently, sometimes 
laughing with Celia, and sometimes looking 
grave over possibilities of danger for the girl, 
which perhaps the younger woman hardly un- 
derstood. When she had finished. Miss Grant’s 
face was very serious. 

“ Celia, dear, you have made a good begin- 
ning. Your first trial was by no means a fail- 
ure, and I do not believe you half understand 
in what great need of help that young girl 
stands. She has revealed volumes in her few 
frank sentences. Be careful that you keep her 
confidence, and ask to be guided in what you 


248 


DAILY BATE.^’ 


shall say, that you may be both wise as a ser- 
pent and harmless as a dove. That is one of 
the greatest gifts God gives to his workers, 
and it needs to be carefully watched and tended 
daily to keep it fit for work, — that mixture of 
wisdom and gentleness.” 

“But, auntie,” said Celia, doubtfully, “do 
you believe I can ever accomplish anything ? 
What is the good of getting such a girl to read 
a verse every day in the Bible ? As likely as 
not, she will choose one among the minor 
prophets, which won’t mean anything to her, 
and as for praying, she said she did not know 
how. What good will it do her to pray, 
‘Now I lay me down to sleep’ for instance, 
every night, not meaning a word of it, nor 
scarcely knowing what she is saying ? ” 

“Kemember, Celia, it is his work. You 
have not to do with the end of it, nor are any 
results in your hand. Don’t you know he 
says, ‘ Ye have not chosen me, but I have 
chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should 
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit 
should remain : that whatsoever ye shall ask 
of the Father in my name, he may give it you.’ 
After I read that verse I always feel com- 
forted to do the work without seeing the re- 
sults, knowing that God has planned all that 
out from the beginning, and all I have to do 


A DAILY BATE.^' 


249 


is to execute the little part of the plan which 
he has entrusted to my hand. As for saying 
that such a girl will not get any good out of 
the Bible, you talk as if you did not believe in 
the Holy Spirit, Celia. Will he not guide her 
to the right words that will help her ? And 
do you not remember that the Bible says about 
itself, that it is written so plainly that ‘he who 
runs may read’ and that the way of life is 
made so plain that the ‘ wayfaring man, though 
a fool, need not err therein ’ ? Then even if 
her heart and her lips do not know how to 
pray, if she truly tries to kneel and present 
herself every day before her Maker, don’t you 
believe he can find ways and means to speak 
to her heart and teach her lips the right 
phrases ? It is a great thing to have a habit 
of prayer, even though your heart is not al- 
ways in it, for you at least bring your body to 
the trysting-place with God, and give him a 
little chance to call to the inattentive heart. 
Don’t you know how Daniel had a habit three 
times a day of praying with his face toward 
Jerusalem ? ” 

“ Oh yes, aunt Hannah, I see it all. You 
always have a Bible verse ready for every one 
of my doubts and murmurs. I wish I had the 
Bible all labeled and put away in the cabinets 
of my brain the way you have, ready to pi^t 


250 


A DAILY BATE.’^ 


my hand on the verse I need at the right time,’’ 
interrupted Celia, laughing, and putting her 
arms around aunt Hannah’s neck to kiss her. 
“ Come now, it’s late and you look tired. I’ll 
be good and go to bed without fretting any 
more, and to-morrow I’ll try to think up more 
ways of helping that feather-headed girl.” 

Meantime, up in the third story room of the 
‘‘ three-cent ” girls, quiet and darkness reigned. 
Miss Simmons had come in a few moments be- 
fore, tired and cross. Her mind was wrought 
up by a play she had just witnessed, and she 
had been quarreling with her escort about 
something which she did not deign to explain 
to her roommate, so they had gone to bed at 
last without the usual giggling confidences, 
and Mamie lay there in the darkness thinking 
over her evening and the advice given her, 
and wondering what the adorable Mr. Harold 
Adams would think of the changes in her when 
she had been fully made over to suit her new 
guide. Suddenly she sat straight, up in bed 
wfith a jerk, which threw the clothes off Miss 
Simmons’ shoulders, and exclaimed : 

“My land alive! If I didn’t forget the 
very first night,” and with that she flung her- 
self out of bed, and striking a match, relit the 
gas. 

“ What in the world is the matter with you, 


A DAILY RATE.^^ 


251 


Marne ? ” said Miss Simmons, pulling the bed 
clothes up angrily. ‘‘I was fast asleep and 
you woke me up I Turn that gas out and 
come back to bed I Cornel ’ We won’t be fit 
to get up in the morning, if you keep rampag- 
ing round all night.” 

But Mamie imperturbably proceeded with 
what she was doing. She tumbled two great 
piles of paper-covered books over in the closet, 
searched among a motley collection of boxes, 
old hats and odds and ends on the closet shelf, 
and then began hunting in the bottom of her 
trunk. It was some minutes before she suc- 
ceeded in finding what she wanted, and by 
that time Miss Simmons was asleep. Mamie 
drew forth from an entanglement of soiled 
ribbons and worn-out garments a small, fine- 
print red Bible with an old-fashioned gilt 
clasp. It was stained on one side and blistered 
as if a tumbler of water had been left stand- 
ing wet upon it. Mamie remained seated on 
the fioor beside her trunk while she turned 
over the leaves rapidly, intent upon keeping 
the letter of her promise in as short a time as 
possible, for the furnace fire was low for the 
night and she was beginning to feel cold. She 
opened near the beginning of the book and 
chanced upon a list of long, hard names which 
she could not pronounce. Perhaps her con- 


252 


DAILY RATEI^ 


science would have been eased as well by a 
verse there as anywhere, but it was too much 
trouble for her unaccustomed mind to pro- 
nounce the words to herself, so she opened 
again at random toward the end, and letting 
her eye run down the page in search of some- 
thing attractive and brief, she was caught by 
this verse : 

“And to her was granted that she should 
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for 
the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.’’ 

“Well now, ain’t that funny!” she said to 
herself, as she paused to read it over before she 
turned out the gas again. “ That seems kind 
of like her talk. Dressed in fine linen ! It 
would be kind of nice and pretty, and real 
stylish, too, if it was tailor-made. I saw a girl 
on Chestnut street last summer in a tailor- 
made white linen that was awful pretty. It 
sort of rustled as if there w^as silk underneath, 
and her hair was all gold and fluffy under a 
big white hat with chiffon on it. She looked 
real elegant. It would take an awful lot of 
washing though, to keep her in fine linen 
‘ clean and white.’ ” 

She glanced at the verse again with her 
hand outstretched to turn out the gas, and 
read it over once more, and then got into bed. 
“For the fine linen is the righteousness of the 


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253 ' 


saints! ” “Well, it does seem a sort o’ saint- 
like dress, now that’s so, and come to think of 
it. Miss Murray, she’s got a sort of a saint face. 
I knew it was something kind o’ strikin’, and 
I couldn’t think what, ’cause you wouldn’t ex- 
actly call her pretty, and yet she ain’t the 
other thing, and some folks — most folks 
maybe — would like it better than to have her 
pretty. Maybe it’s because she’s got the 
righteousness this talks about. She does look 
like a saint, that’s certain. Anyway, she will 
when she’s as old as Miss Grant. Miss 
Grant, now, she’s a saint sure I And she 
would look nice in a fine linen dress all white, 
too. I wish she’d put one on some time, so I 
could see. How funny it is to have the Bible 
talk about dress. I supposed the Bible thought 
clo’es was wicked. I’m sure the Sunday-school 
teachers always say you mustn’t think about 
’em. Well, that’s a pretty verse anyhow. I 
wonder who it was that had that fine linen 
dress granted to her, and if she wore it all the 
time, that is, clean ones every day, all fresh 
and crisp ! My I I wish ’twas me ! Wouldn’t 
I be happy though ! I guess this reading’s 
going to be real interesting, maybe. I never 
thought there could be any verse in it like 
that. Most things I’ve read before was about 
sinning and dying and heaven, and scarey 


254 


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things like that. Anyhow, I’ve kept my 
promise. Why, no I haven’t, either ! ” she ex- 
claimed aloud, and suddenly bounced out of 
bed again, to the detriment of her bed-fellow’s 
temper. 

She knelt down beside the bed, and her 
thoughts paused a brief moment, while she 
tried to put her mind in praying frame. She 
tried to think how to pray aright. She wanted 
to feel the satisfaction of having performed 
this duty that she had felt in her Bible read- 
ing. She must ask for something. She was 
conscious of a vague wish in her heart that she 
were good enough and had friends great 
enough that this that she had read of might 
be granted to her, to be arrayed in spotless, 
neat apparel, beautiful, and given by the love 
of some one who cared for her above others. 
How to put such a thought into fitting phrase, 
or even if this were done, whether it would 
be a proper wish to express in prayer she did 
not know. At last she whispered, “ Oh God — ” 
and paused, and waited and tried to collect 
some better words, and then murmured again, 
“ Oh God — ” and then — “ Amen.” 

When she lay down to rest again, it was 
with a sense of awe upon her which would not 
let her sleep for some time. She had been 
near to the great God, and touched as it were 


A DAILY EATE.'^ 


255 

the hem of his garment, with curious perfunc- 
tory fingers, like a child who had been dared 
to do a certain thing, and coming, curious, un- 
thinking, heedless, had touched and suddenly 
felt the power and greatness and beauty of 
that which he had touched, and had stolen 
away ashamed. 

Altogether Mamie Williams was not as sat- 
isfied with her first effort at prayer as she had 
been with her Bible reading. But yet in 
heaven it was recorded, Behold, she prayeth ! ” 


CHAPTEE XX. 


The next day was Sunday. 

Celia had wakened early, in spite of the fact 
that she was up late the night before. She 
lay thinking over the changes that had come 
into her life, and wondering how things were 
going to work out. Somehow there seemed a 
cloud over what she had been trying to do. 
She had not accomplished much with Harry. 
She had kept him in the house a few evenings, 
it is true, and interested him in a few good 
books, but nothing really to much purpose 
after all. To be safe from all the temptations 
that beset his path every day, he needed to be 
anchored on the Eock of Christ. She did not 
feel that she knew how to help him in that 
way, he was such a gay, bright fellow, so 
ready to laugh. She thought of the minister 
and the influence he seemed to have over the 
young man, and felt half indignant at him for 
not exercising it in a religious way, instead of 
merely a personal one, and then she realized 
that she knew nothing at all ab^out what in- 
fluences he was using, and ought not to judge 
him. For aught she knew, he had spoken to 
256 


DAILY BATE.^^ 


257 


him many times. How unjust she had been ! 
Then she remembered what her aunt had told 
her about the improvements made last even- 
ing in the parlor, and jumped up to dress and 
run down to see them. Aunt Hannah had 
already completed her toilet and gone down 
to the kitchen to help Molly Poppleton, and 
to direct the new waitress who had been in 
the house but three days. 

Celia was delighted with the bookcase. 
Somebody had an artistic eye and construc- 
tive ability. The bookcase was exactly the 
right height, and filled the long bare wall on 
one side of the room beautifully. It was fin- 
ished with a neat niolding of natural wood, 
and the whole nicely oiled. There were a 
few books piled on the floor beside it, waiting 
till the shelves should be perfectly dry to re- 
ceive them, evidently contributions to the new 
case. She stooped to read their titles, and was 
astonished and pleased to find among them 
several new books by best authors, which she 
had been longing to read, but had as yet not 
seen. They were nearly all in new bindings 
as if fresh from the bookstore, though one or 
two had the name written inside in fine, strong 
handwriting Horace L. Stafford.” 

Celia drew back, a slight flush creeping over 
her face. She was grateful for the books thus 


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DAILY HATE A ^ 


loaned or donated. The newcomer was evi- 
dently bound to be helpful, and seemed to 
know how to do it. Now if they could have 
a few games under the lighted lamp on the 
table, perhaps some of the young people might 
be kept in evenings. Would such things reach 
Mamie Williams and her friend, she wondered ? 
And she sighed and feared that Mamie was too 
much interested in other things to be reached 
so simply. She remembered that Mamie had 
been reading the other night. Perhaps some 
of these delightful stories would reach her. 
There were one or two religious books, small 
and daintily bound, which looked attractive. 
Celia picked them up and turned the pages, 
her expressive face kindling with a thought 
she read here and there. Then she went to 
the small cozy corner by the organ and sat 
down. She looked about her at the few 
changes they had made, and remembered the 
night when she had looked around on that 
parlor waiting for the postman. How much 
difference a few little things had made ! She 
could see other changes that might be made 
to improve matters, and she resolved to try 
them as soon as possible. Then she sat down 
at the organ. She had never tried that whin- 
ing instrument, since she had been in the 
house. It had paiped her some times to hear 


A DAILY bate:' 


259 


it groaning and wheezing under the bold touch 
of the tenor brakeman as he ground out an 
accompaniment to some of his solos. Celia 
did not like a cabinet organ. She longed for 
a piano, but there was no piano, and here 
was this organ. What could be made of it ? 
Perhaps it might be tuned and answer for 
singing occasionally. Certainly, if it was to 
sta}^ there and be used, it would conduce to 
her own comfort to have it put in order. She 
touched the keys softly to see how bad it was, 
and went on playing chords gently. She was 
not a finished musician, but she had learned 
to play a little for the home pleasure, and now 
instinctively her fingers sought out some of 
the old favorite tunes. 

“Safely through another week, 

God has brought us on our way, 

Let us now a blessing seek, 

Waiting in his courts to-day. ’ ’ 


Her conscience pricked her, as the words rang 
themselves over in her mind. She had not 
been going to church very regularly since she 
came to the city. She had wandered around 
from one church to another, feeling forlorn 
and lonely at all, not going often enough to 
one place to become noticed as a stranger and 
welcomed, even if the people had had the dis- 


260 


DAILY BATE:^ 


position to welcome her. Since annt Hannah 
had been there, she had made an excuse to 
stay at home with her if she was not able to 
go out, and at such times when her aunt could 
go, she had taken her to the different churches 
near by in rotation, that she might choose 
where they should go. The elder lady had 
not as yet made any choice, nor, indeed, had 
she expressed her mind concerning the places 
of worship they had visited. Celia thought 
of it now, and wished their dear old church 
from Cloverdale could be transplanted bodily. 
It was so desolate to go among strangers and 
not have any place or work in the church 
home. She sighed and made up her mind 
that she must go more regularly and perhaps 
offer to take a class in Sunday-school or some- 
thing of the sort. Of course it was not right 
to live this way ; but her heart was not in her 
resolve. She played on, not realizing what 
tune she had started till she began to hum the 
words in a low sweet voice : 


‘ ‘ The day of rest once more comes round, 
A day to all believers dear ; 

The silver trumpets seem to sound, 

That call the tribes of Israel near ; 

Ye people all. 

Obey the call, 

And in Jehovah’s courts appear ” 


“A DAILY bate:' 


261 


She broke off suddenly and played a few 
stray chords. She knew that the next verse 
began : 

‘‘Obedient to thy summons, Lord, 

We to thy sanctuary come ; " 


It was strange that all the words were on 
that subject. She would choose something 
else. She thought a moment, her fingers lin- 
gering on the keys. Then she began to sing : 

“ Father in thy mysterious presence kneeling. 

Fain would our souls feel all thy kindling love ; 

For we are weak, and need some deep revealing 
Of trust, and strength, and calmness from above.” 

She felt the beauty of the words and the 
depth of meaning, and sang with her heart, 
each word as a prayer. Her voice grew fuller 
and sweeter as she went on. 

“ Lord ! we have wandered forth through doubt and 
sorrow. 

And thou hast made each step an onward one ; 

And we will ever trust each unknown morrow ; 

Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done.” 

She had not heard the step upon the stairs 
and did not know that some one entered the 
parlor and sat down on the divan near by, 
until, as she commenced the third verse, a 


262 


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rich, sweet tenor, full of cultivation and feel- 
ing, joined with her in the words : 

“ Now, Father ! now in thy dear presence kneeling, 

Our spirits yearn to feel thy kindling love ; 

Now make us strong ; we need thy deep revealing 
Of trust, and strength, and calmness from above.” 

Celia’s voice trembled at first, but the 
stronger one sustained the tune and she kept 
on, the pink color stealing up her cheeks and 
to the tips of her ears. If the other singer 
saw her embarrassment, he did not notice it. 
When the last note died slowly away and 
Celia was wondering what she should do and 
how she should get away from the room, he 
said quite in a matter-of-fact voice, as if he 
and she were accustomed to singing together 
early on Sabbath mornings : “ Will you play 
‘ Lead Kindly Light,’ please ? ” And she had 
played on, glad that she knew it well enough 
to do so, and they sang together. 

“ Thank you ! ” he said simply, when the 
last verse was finished. “ That has helped me 
for the work that I have to do to-day. In 
fact that song always helps me. Do you, 
sometimes, come to a place where you want to 
look ahead and see whether things are coming 
out as you wish ? Isn’t it blessed to think he 
leads the way, and makes the gloom for our 


DAILY RATEV 


263 


sakes that we shall not fear for what is to 
come, while perhaps if we could look and see 
the blessings — in disguise — sometimes we 
might turn and dee. You belong to him, do 
you not-. Miss Murray ? I thought I could not 
be mistaken. I want to thank you for this 
pleasant bit of morning praise. It has been 
like home.” 

Celia had raised her eyes in one swift glad 
glance of recognition of their kindred disciple- 
ship, when he asked her if she was a Christian, 
and had answered, low and earnestly, “ Yes, I 
do,” feeling in her heart how very wrong she 
had been in calling this man unspiritual. Her 
heart longed to reach that high plane of trust- 
ful living where he seemed to move. She 
lifted her eyes again and timidly asked : 

“ Do you think it is possible for every one to 
feel that perfect assurance where they cannot 
see the way ? I wish I knew how to trust 
that way and not worry over things.” 

“ It is hard sometimes, isn’t it, to just lay 
down the burdens at the Father’s feet and 
realize that we need not carry them ? But 
isn’t it strange that it is hard ? ” And he 
looked at her with that peculiarly bright smile 
which she had noticed the first night he came 
to the house. ‘‘One would think that we 
would be only too glad to get rid of the 


264 


DAILY EATEA* 


burden and the worry, when he, so strong and 
willing offers to take it. Perhaps that is one 
reason why I like that hymn. It seems to help 
me to remember whose I am and who is my 
Saviour. I am prone to forget when I think, 
for instance, of some dear one whom I see 
fading day by day and know cannot be long 
upon this earth, that the night ever will be 
gone 

“ ‘And with the mom, those angel faces smile 
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile ! ’ 

A deep sadness had settled over his face, as 
he looked up to her and repeated the lines of 
the hymn they had just sung, and her heart 
was filled with pity for some sorrow she felt 
he was bearing. Instinctively she remem- 
bered the sweet beautiful face in the velvet 
case, and while he seemed set apart and sacred 
in her thought of his sorrow, she let a shade 
of her old dignity creep back into her voice, 
which had fallen from it for a few moments. 
The breakfast bell had sounded, and the board- 
ers were coming downstairs. With one accord 
the two rose and went toward the dining-room, 
feeling that they did not care to have the 
quiet confidences of the few moments they 
had spent together intruded upon or misun- 
derstood. Celia thanked Mr. Stafford for his 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


265 


words a little stiffly, as one, as a matter of 
form, might thank any strange minister for a 
good sermon, and perhaps the young man 
wondered a little at her seemingly variable 
moods. 

It was after breakfast, and the church bells 
were sending their various calls to worship 
through the clear cold air of the city. Celia 
stood ready dressed for church, waiting for 
her aunt in the front hall. Miss Grant had 
been called back by Molly Poppleton, just as 
they were starting out of the door, and Celia 
tapped her foot impatiently on the hall 
oilcloth and wished aunt Hannah would 
hurry. Not that she was anxious to go to 
church, but she wanted to get the duty done 
with and come back, for Mr. Stafford had 
slipped a most inviting little book into her 
hand, as he passed her in the upper hall after 
breakfast, saying “Have you read Daniel 
Quorm ? If not, it will interest you, perhaps. 
It is along the line of our talk this morning, 
and it has helped me to trust him where I 
couldn’t trace him.” 

She had read a few pages while aunt Han- 
nah tied her bonnet and put on her gloves, and 
had already grown deeply interested in the 
quaint phrases of Daniel in his story of his lit- 
tle maid. She wanted to get back to it. She 


266 


A DAILY BATE:'^ 


stilled her conscience when it pricked her for 
not caring to go to church, by telling it that 
the book would probably do her more good 
than a sermon in a strange church, but her 
conscience was too well trained to let her for- 
get that God had promised to meet her in the 
church. 

Some one was standing in the shadow of the 
parlor curtains, Celia did not know who. She 
thought that perhaps it was the brakeman. 
He had returned the night before, and was off 
duty for the day. She unfastened the door 
and breathed in the clear sunny air with de- 
light, then glanced up the stairs to see if aunt 
Hannah was coming. But just then came 
Miss Grant’s voice, as she leaned over the stair 
railing, and Celia saw that her gloves were off 
and her bonnet untied again. 

“ Celia, don’t wait for me. I am not going 
this morning. I have made up my mind my 
duty is with Mrs. Belden. She is feeling very 
despondent. Go on without me. Isn’t there 
some one else you can go with ? ” she asked, as 
she saw the look of dismay on Celia’s face and 
heard her exclaim, “ Oh auntie ! ” 

Then the figure that had been standing in 
the shadow of the window curtain in the par- 
lor moved forward and Harry Knowles 
stepped out. 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


267 


“Miss Murray, would / do ?” he asked 
humbly, “ or — would you rather not go with 
me ? ” There was a hesitancy and shamefac- 
edness about him which was not like his usual 
manner, and he seemed anxious to have her 
accept. While Celia hesitated. Miss Grant 
said : — “ Why, yes, Celia, that is very nice. 
You and Mr. Knowles go together. I am so 
glad he is going,” and then slipped away 
from the stairs pleased in her heart, both for 
Celia’s sake that she would not be alone, and 
for the young man that he was willing to go 
to the house of the Lord. 

As Celia turned to go with him, she reflected 
that she had been wishing he would go to 
church, or wishing she might say some word to 
help him, and now he had himself opened the 
way by inviting her to go. She felt reproached, 
that she had never invited him before. But 
Harry seemed uncomfortable, and when he 
had closed the door, he stopped on the upper 
step and asked again, “ You are sure you are 
willing to go with me? You aren’t afraid or 
anything ? ” and Celia looked up in surprise, 
and saw the earnest, eager, shamed face and 
said, “ Why surely, Harry, I am willing. Why 
should I be afraid?” 

“Well, I thought, — I was afraid you— after 
that night— you know—” he said, growing red 


268 


DAILY BATE.''> 


and grinding liis heel into the stone on which 
he stood, “ I can’t forgive myself, Miss Mur- 
ray, that’s all, and I thought you didn’t like me 
asking you.” He looked up bravely through 
his embarrassment with his sorry, boyish eyes 
asking forgiveness. 

“ Harry,” said Celia turning her clear, hon- 
est gaze full upon him, “ I was truly glad, and 
was only being ashamed myself because 1 had 
not asked you before, for I have been wishing 
you would go to church, and — I have been 
praying for you.” 

She spoke the words low and embarrassed ly, 
for she was not used to talking much about 
such things to strangers, but the young man’s 
eyes filled with moisture, and he said, “ Thank 
you,” in such hearty tones that she knew he 
meant it. Then he added, “ So is the minister, 
and maybe I’ll amount to something, after 
all.” 

Celia was surprised to find that she suddenly 
felt a sense of satisfaction in what he had told 
her about the minister. She did not under- 
stand all her feelings to-day. She must sit 
down and analyze them when she reached 
home. 

“ But where are we to go, Harry ? ” she 
asked, pausing on the sidewalk a moment. 
‘‘ Have you any choice ? I have not put my 


DAILY RATE.'^ 


269 


letter into any church yet, though I ought to 
have done so before this.” 

She tried to remember in her mind which of 
the churches she had attended would be the 
most likely to help the young man, but could 
not remember any of them definitely, and con- 
cluded that since she had been in the city she 
had taken her body to the church and left -her 
soul at home, or wandering in fields of other 
thoughts than those presented for her deliber- 
ation at the sanctuary. 

Harry's face grew eager again. 

“Well, then, that’s nice. Maybe you 
wouldn’t mind going to hear Mr. Stafford, be- 
cause I’ve half promised him that I would 
come there this morning, you see.” 

“ Oh, of course we will,” said Celia, w^onder- 
ing why it was she had never thought to go 
and hear him before, and why it was that 
the thought of hearing him preach had sud- 
denly become so pleasant. 

She wondered again as she listened to his 
opening prayer. Every word seemed to be 
prayed for her, and to fit her needs exactly, 
and she pulled herself up sharply when she 
found that she was actually imagining that he 
remembered their talk before breakfast, and 
was praying thus for her. The hymn just be- 
fore the sermon was wonderful, and again she 


270 


DAILY rate:' 


reprimanded herself severely, for thinking he 
looked at her while he read that last verse, so 
perfectly did it appeal to her need. He read 
it exquisitely and tenderly, and as he reached 
the last line he looked at her again, and it 
gave her a strange pleasure to feel those words 
spoken so to her, even as if the Father himself 
had sent her an especial message that morn- 
ing, and by a noble messenger. 

‘ ‘ Take, my soul, thy full salvation ! 

Rise from sin, and fear, and care. 

Joy to find in every station 
Something still to do or dare. 

Think what Spirit dwells within thee. 

Think what Father’s smiles are thine ! 

Think what Saviour died to win thee ! 

Child of heaven, shouldst thou repine? ” 


CHAPTEE XXI. 


That Sabbath afternoon was one of deep 
thought and soul searching to Celia. The 
sermon she had heard, the hymns she had sung, 
the prayer she had listened to, the book she 
had partly read, all seemed to bring her the one 
thought, that of the possibility of a life be- 
yond anything she had known heretofore, a 
life whose every breath was trust, and whose 
joy was unalloyed because there was no care 
in it to break the deep, sweet peace. The 
longing for some change of this sort in her 
own heart did not take her interest from the 
work she had just begun around her. Instead 
it seemed to deepen her interest in all in the 
house, and to make her heart throb anew with 
love to her Saviour. 

With the little book in her hand which Mr. 
Stafford had loaned her she passed through 
the hall that afternoon on some errand for her 
aunt, and returning saw Harry Knowles hov- 
ering restlessly about the parlor. It came to 
her that perhaps she might say something to 
help him, but what could it be ? She felt hardly 
ready yet without more thought and prep- 

271 


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A DAILY bate: 


aration. She might do more harm than good. 
Following an impulse she offered him the book 
to read awhile, and then went back to her 
room, half sorry that she had deprived herself 
of the pleasure of finishing it. Flowever, she 
had read enough to remember, and there lay 
her Bible. She took it up and read. Some- 
how the words seemed to fit all the other cir- 
cumstances of the day, and to help her on to 
the one great desire that was growing deeper 
in her heart, that she might forget to fret and 
worry and learn to trust Jesus entirely for all 
that was to come. She read a chapter and 
part of another. The words seemed especially 
fresh and new to her. She began to wonder 
if she had been giving her whole mind to her 
Bible reading of late. Then suddenly from 
out the printed page there came a command. 
It was not so very marked, not more than 
other verses she had read, and yet it seemed 
to her to have a special significance for her, 
and to remind her that there was a young 
girl of nearly her own age upstairs, over 
whom she had been shown her own influence, 
who was perhaps needing help from her at 
this very moment. She felt that she must go, 
though she could scarcely tell why, and she 
laid aside her Bible and knelt to ask God’s 
help before she went. 


DAILY BATE:^ 


273 


As she knocked at Mamie Williams’ door 
she wondered at herself for coming, and how 
she was to explain her visit. She decided that 
if any one answered she would say she had 
come to ask them to go out to church with her 
that evening, though she had hardly made up 
her mind before that to go herself. She felt 
much embarrassed at herself in that one min- 
ute after she had knocked, and heartily wished 
herself back in her own room. But she had 
not long to wait. The door was thrown open 
after a moment of what sounded like scuffling 
inside, by Mamie herself, this time without 
gum in her mouth, but with rather red cheeks 
and her hair floating in wet strings down her 
back over a towel. Her face and hands were 
a brilliant, tender pink, giving strong evidence 
of the severe scrubbing Celia had recommended 
the night before. She instantly recognized 
what it meant, and her heart sank that at her 
advice this girl was spending her Sunday af- 
ternoon in such a way. Perhaps the angels 
knew that by making herself sweet and clean, 
she was coming nearer to the kingdom of God 
than she had ever yet been. 

The other roommate occupied a comfortable 
lounging spot on the bed. Her hair was tum- 
bled and her dress loosened, and in her hand 
was a paper covered book. Celia had oppor- 


274 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


tunity afterward to observe that it was the 
same one that Miss Williams had been reading 
the day before. 

Miss Simmons did not rise from the bed, but 
she greeted the intruder with a languid sur- 
prise, and withal a show of pleasure that made 
Celia feel she was not unwelcome, and told her 
to sit down. She was munching cheap candy 
from a box which lay beside her on. the bed, 
and she held it out at once to the guest saying : 

“ Sit down. Have some candy, do. I had 
it give to me last night.” This with a signifi- 
cant giggle interpolated into her natural 
drawl. Then looking at her roommate, she 
said, apologetically, 

“You must excuse Marne. She’s took an 
awful fit of cleanin’ up. I don’t know what 
she’s getting ready for, but she’s made herself 
a sight. Her nose ’s as red ’s a beet. Did you 
want something or did you just come in to kill 
time ? ” 

Celia accepted the chair, declining the candy 
as graciously as possible, saying she seldom ate 
it, and made known her request that they 
would go with her that evening to meeting. 
She bethought herself of the service she had 
attended that morning, and that possibly it 
might interest these two to go and hear the 
minister who lived under the same roof with 


A DAILY RATE. 


275 


them, and urged that as an incentive, describ- 
ing the pleasant room, the good singing, and 
perfect friendliness she had met, with an en- 
thusiasm that surprised herself. 

“I can’t go,” said Miss Simmons, promptly, 
“I’m expecting company.” There was the 
same conscious drawing in of the breath when 
she said this, evidently meant to express a cer- 
tain and especial kind of company, that Celia 
had noticed in Mamie’s talk the night before. 
It made her heart sink with the utter useless- 
ness of trying to work against such odds, till 
she remembered her new half-formed resolves, 
not to look ahead for results, but to do the 
work trusting the rest to God. 

Mamie’s cheeks had grown redder, if that 
was possible. She was sitting on the edge of 
a chair with the hair brush in her hand. She 
seemed a trifle shy. 

“ It’s awful nice of you to ask us,” she said, 
“ but I don’t know but perhaps I’m going to 
have company, too. It wouldn’t do to be away, 
though I ain’t just positive, you know.” 

“Couldn’t you bring them along?” said 
Celia, promptly, as if it would be the most nat- 
ural thing in the world to do, though her heart 
misgave her at the idea of taking the oily youth 
she had seen in the parlor waiting for Miss 
Simmons not long before. 


276 


DAILY RATE. 


“ Oh, no indeed ! ” snickered Miss Simmons, 
“ he wouldn’t go a step. He ain’t that kind. 
And besides he’d be mad, for he said he might 
be going to bring another fellow along he 
wants me specially to meet. He wants to see 
me very perticular to-night anyway, so I 
couldn’t think of going out,” and Miss Sim- 
mons retired behind her book. 

Mamie had meantime been puzzling over the 
problem of how to please herself and her new 
object of adoration at the same time, and 
seemed to have arrived at a solution. 

“ I don’t know but I might go after all,” she 
skid, slowly, looking down at the toe of her 
shoe. Say, Carrie, if he should come would 
you be sure and tell him I had gone out with 
somebody else f — you could tell him it was a 
very special friend who had invited me, you 
know, and he would think it was another 
fellah. That might have a good effect on him, 
you know. I believe I’ll try it this time any- 
way. I’ll go. Miss Murray, if you want it so 
much. It’s a good thing to get people jealous 
once in a while, don’t you think ? Say, was 
that you down in the parlor singing this morn- 
ing early ? It was awful sweet ! Who else 
was there? It didn’t sound quite like Mr. 
Yates, but I didn’t know any of the others 
sang. It wasn’t Harry Knowles, was it? 


DAILY RATE.^' 


277 


He’s too young for you an3^way. You don’t say 
it was the minister ! My I He’s awful talented, 
ain’t he ? Wouldn’t it be romantic if it should 
turn out you was to marry him some time ? 
Did you ever know him before ? I’ve heard 
of stories like that lots of times.” 

Celia’s cheeks rivaled Mamie’s in hue, and 
her anger had risen rapidly. She did not dare 
trust herself to rebuke this girl, for her desire 
to do her good was still strong. She quickly 
looked about for a turn to the conversation. 

“Are you fond of singing? Then come 
downstairs and let us sing now. I think some 
of the others are down there. We can have a 
very pleasant time, I’m sure. I have some 
Gospel song books. Put up your hair and 
come.” She walked to the door trying to 
steady her fluttered nerves, and still that queer 
beating of her heart, half indignation, half 
something else which she did not understand, 
and which she did not wish to countenance. 

“ My land ! ” said Mamie, beaming, “ I’d 
come in a minute, only what’ll I do with my 
hair ? It’s about dry, but it’ll take me an 
hour to do it all up after washing, it’s so 
tangled and slippery. Perhaps you will fix it 
for me. Do, that’ll be nice. Then j^ou can 
show me how to do it like yours.” 

Celia was dismayed. She would scarcely 


278 


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have chosen Sunday afternoon for a lesson in 
hair-dressing, but how could she refuse on that 
score, as the request had been put in answer to 
one of her own ? To handle another person's 
hair at any time was to her a sore trial. She 
shrank from contact with any one except her 
nearest and dearest. But how was she to refuse ? 
How was she to get an influence over Mamie if 
she let her see she was unwilling to do what she 
asked of her ? For a minute her repugnance of 
the coarse girl, with her coarse hair, red face and 
loud, grating words was so intense that she al- 
most yielded to her desire to turn and flee 
from the room and shake the dust from her 
feet, and tell her aunt Hannah to take her 
away from the horrible boarders and never let 
her see any of them again. Then she gained 
control of herself, and though her cheeks were 
still red at memory of the careless words of 
the girl, she consented to undertake the hair; 
and even the deeply absorbed Carrie on the 
bed, who had been furtively watching the 
stranger during all, never suspected what a 
trial she had quietly taken upon herself. 

Having undertaken the task, she did it well. 
She had a naturally artistic eye and hand and 
there was some pleasure, after the dislike had 
been overcome, in making Mamie’s hair look 
as she had often thought it ought to look. 


A DAILY RATEy 


279 


Quickly and deftlj^ she twisted it, smoothed 
it here and there, and fastened it firmly, and 
after it was accomplished Mamie stood and 
surveyed herself. 

‘‘ It looks awful plain,” she saidj hesitatingly, 
“ and it makes me seem queer, ’cause I ain’t 
used to it, but I guess I like it. Don’t you, 
Carrie ? ” 

“ It looks real stylish,” answered that young 
woman, enviously, mentally resolving to try 
her own that way as soon as the others had 
left the room. 

Celia went to wash her hands, with a heavy 
heart. She must certainly have mistaken that 
voice which she thought called her to go to 
that room. AVhat had she accomplished but 
teaching the fashions this afternoon ? How 
was she ever to know whether a thing was a 
duty or not ? She went down to the parlor 
with her singing books, and found Mamie there 
before her looking pretty and a trifle shy in 
consciousness of her new coiffure. She was 
talking to the tenor brakeman who was evi- 
dently lost in admiration of her charms. She 
went at once to the organ and started the 
singing, but she found that the brakeman’s 
tenor was not quite so pleasant as that which 
had blended with her own voice earlier in the 
day. The other boarders heard the music, 


280 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


and one by one dropped in, all joining in the 
words when they were familiar until even 
Miss Burns was there. Mr. Stafford had come 
in also. The minister joined in the singing, 
though he sat in a shaded corner of the room 
for the most part and sang softly, as if he were 
weary. Celia found that her thoughts kept 
wandering to him and wondering what was 
the matter, and she grew exceedingly annoyed 
over this fact, as she remembered Mamie Wil- 
liams’ careless words a little while before. 
She was glad when the tea bell rang and called 
them from the organ. 

The church party was larger than she had 
expected. Mamie had wheedled Mr. Yates 
into being one of the number. She was the 
kind of girl who always wants a young man 
along w^hen she goes anywhere. The other 
three young men joined the group also, per- 
haps at Harry’s solicitation, or it might be out 
of interest in the minister who had been sing- 
ing with them. 

They were starting out of the door. Aunt 
Hannah was behind with Harry Knowles. 
Miss Burns had volunteered to stay with Mrs. 
Belden during the evening. Celia stepped 
down to the pavement beside Mamie and 
walked on. 

“ Say, he’s awful nice. I like him. I wish 


DAILY BATE.^' 281 

he would marry you, ’cause I like you both,” 
said romantic Mamie, in a confidential whis- 
per. 

“ What do you mean ? Who ? ” said Celia, 
startled, and having a vague idea of the tenor 
brakeman. 

“ Why, Mr. Stafford, the minister ! ” said 
the other girl. 

“ You must never say anything like that 
again,” she said, in a suddenly chilling tone 
which almost froze Mamie’s eager enthusiasm 
for a minute. “ It is utterly absurd and ridic- 
ulous.” 

She wished afterward that she could have 
turned it off with a laugh, and let the girl see 
that she had no notion of any such thing, 
without making such a tragic thing of it, but 
indeed she had felt so annoyed at the second 
bold intimacy of the girl, which seemed to her 
like the handling and mixing up . of sacred 
things by clumsy hands untaught and unknow- 
ing what they did, that she had almost stopped 
in her walk and gone back to the house. How- 
ever, she managed to steady her voice and her 
steps and keep on. 

“ Why ? ” asked Mamie, half timidly, ‘‘ don’t 
you like him ? ” 

“ Certainly, I don’t dislike him. But neither 
of us have any idea of any such thing. It is 


282 


DAILY BATE.'^ 


very annoying to have it suggested. He is 
simply a' boarder.” She said it freezingly. 

Oh,” said Mamie, in a frightened tone, ‘‘ I 
didn’t mean any harm. I just thought it 
would be nice, that was all.” After that she 
dropped behind with Bob Yates who had come 
up, and Celia walked with aunt Hannah and 
Harry Knowles. 

“ She’s an awful queer girl in some ways,” 
confided Mamie to her escort a few minutes 
later. “ I just said she and the minister would 
make a nice match, and she got just as mad as 
a hornet. My ! She scared me so I didn’t 
know but I’d cry ! ” and then she giggled in a 
way Bob Yates much admired. 

Celia sat in the meeting too much annoyed 
to rally her spirits and enjoy what was going 
on. She scarcely heard the hymns or realized 
the sermon. The voice of the minister, cul- 
tured, earnest, tender, loving toward his peo- 
ple, awakened in her the knowledge that she 
was more interested in this man than she 
wanted to be. She did not Avish to hear his 
voice and like it, and his sermon she knew she 
Avould enjoy and therefore tormented herself 
with her annoyance, so that she did not hear 
it, and saw between the lines in her hymn 
book, ever and anon, a sAA^eet pictured face in 
a velvet frame. She called herself a fool, and 


A DAILY RATE.'^ 


283 


wondered that there was anything about a 
man whom she had so short a time ago not 
even heard of, to make her feel so uncomfort- 
able. Then she turned to watch Mamie’s face, 
and her heart sank again as she reflected how 
useless it had been to try to do anything for 
her. True, her hair was becoming and neatly 
arranged, and the black eyes of the young 
man beside her were admiringly turned to- 
ward her occasionally, but perhaps that was 
only another source of harm to the poor girl. 
After all Celia’s resolves, her day seemed to 
be ending most miserably. 

How could she know that at that very mo- 
ment the young girl beside her was listening 
to the minister with undisguised amaze, as he 
read the words of his text, “ And to her was 
granted that she should be arrayed in fine 
linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is 
the righteousness of saints.” She did not 
know about the hurried getting out of bed to 
read the promised verse the night before, nor 
how the verse itself had impressed itself upon 
the young girl’s mind, perhaps the more be- 
cause it was about dress, the one great theme 
of all themes of interest to her mind, — unless 
perhaps one might except those of love, court- 
ship and marriage. If Celia had been told all 
this, it might only have discouraged her the 


284 


DAILY BATEI^ 


more that the Bible itself meant no more to 
Mamie than a fashion book might have done, 
and so it was a wise thing that Celia could not 
see and know until all God’s plan was worked 
out to the finish, and she was given eyes per- 
fected through his teaching to understand the 
whys and wherefores. 

The sermon which followed was simplicity 
itself. If Celia had not been so taken up with 
her own uneasy heart, she would have recog- 
nized the skill of the preacher, as he plainly 
and simply drew the meaning from what 
might have otherwise been to many minds 
before him an empty and meaningless passage. 
Even the feather-brained Mamie was able to 
understand and to carry aAvay with her the 
few facts she had wished to know when she 
first read the words, together with their deep 
spiritual meaning. She had felt a pang of dis- 
appointment when she heard that this incom- 
parable person, this child of luxury here spoken 
of, was the church, Christ’s bride, and she told 
herself, half enviously that she had nothing to 
do with the verse at all, of course. But, im- 
mediately, the preacher made it plain to every 
one in the house that he and she individually 
did belong, ought to belong, by right were, 
members of that church for whom Christ died, 
and that it was only through their own wills 


A DAILY RATEI 


285 ' 


that they deliberately put themselves outside 
its pale, that really, to every one present, it 
had been granted as a privilege, and it was 
their own fault that they did not accept and 
wear it. He spoke at length of the difficulty 
of keeping such garments white and pure in 
the midst of a world of work and constant 
contact with that which would soil, how only 
the children of the rich could afford to dress 
in a color which would so easily soil, and how 
only those who could go and have such gar- 
ments washed in the blood of the Lamb could 
keep them pure and white. Then he talked 
about that righteousness of the saints until 
even Bob Yates dropped his eyes from the 
earnest, eloquent face of the speaker, and be- 
gan to look into his own heart and wish that 
he might some way be different, and Ma- 
mie’s cheeks glowed and her heart beat fast. 
She had forgotten, for the time, Mr. Harold 
Adams, and even the admiring glances of her 
escort to church that night. She even forgot 
the new arrangement of her hair, and ceased 
to feel the back of her head, to discover how 
perchance it might be affecting those who 
looked upon her from the rear. She resolved, 
in some way, to discover for herself how she 
might wear this fine linen, and when the clos- 
ing hymn was announced, she stood up with 


286 


DAILY BATE.'^ 


the others, and sang in a loud voice the words, 
meaning them in her heart more than any 
words she had ever sung before. She felt a 
strange, sweet thrill of longing, new and faint, 
but real, as the hymn went on. 

“ O Jesus Christ the righteous ! live in me, 

That, when in glory I thy face shall see. 

Within the Father’s house, my glorious dress 
May be the garment of thy righteousness. ’ ’ 


Mamie felt for the first time in her life that 
night, that she had really a strong determina- 
tion to go to heaven when she died. The 
white linen could be worn then, if not before. 
The minister had said it might be worn now 
also. Well, perhaps 

Her heart was softened, and on the way 
home she confided the coincidence of her verse 
the night before and the minister’s text to Mr. 
Yates, who was deeply interested and im- 
pressed. Celia would have been surprised, 
perhaps, if she could have heard the brakeman 
telling Mamie at the door that she had helped 
him, that he wanted to be better than he had 
been and he was glad she was that kind of a 
girl. 

As for Celia, the minister himself had walked 
home with her. She hoped that Mamie had 
not seen, and her cheeks burned red and her 


A DAILY RATE.'^ 


287 


embarrassment did not lessen during the en- 
tire walk. He asked her to help him in his 
Sunday-school work, and she accepted the 
class he offered her, after much hesitation, but 
she was stiff and unlike herself, and aunt Han- 
nah wondered greatly why Celia seemed so 
cold and uninterested in things. She sighed 
as she went about preparing for the night, and 
wished that Celia’s mother had lived ; nobody 
could understand a girl like her own mother, 
she thought. Then she knelt as she always 
did, and laid her care at her Master’s feet, and 
rested with an unburdened heart for the next 
day’s work. 


CHAPTEK XXII. 


Oi^'E morning, about eleven o’clock, Molly 
Poppleton was up in the third-story hall at- 
tending to the rooms on that floor. The 
chambermaid was not well, and Molly had 
been put back in her work a good deal, so 
that it was late and she was in a hurry. She 
thumped the water pitchers down hard, 
slammed the doors, and punched the pillows 
into shape with extra vigor on this account, 
but, suddenly, in the midst of making up the 
University student’s bed, she came to a sharp 
halt and straightened up to listen. She was 
not mistaken. She certainly had heard sounds 
of distress. They grew clearer now as she 
went to the hall door, and she quickly located 
them. They were low, half-suppressed sobs, 
following quickly upon one another, as though 
the weeper were in deep distress. After lis- 
tening, she marched down the hall, and with- 
out more ceremony threw open the door of a 
room. There lay Mamie Williams across the 
foot of her unmade bed crying bitterly and 
shaking with sobs. Molly Poppleton was at 
all times a straightforward maiden, and she 
288 


A DAILY rate:' 


289 


believed in coming to the point at once ; it was 
the way she had been brought up. So, with- 
out apology for intruding into the young girl’s 
trouble, she demanded what was the matter. 

Mamie raised her head long enough to show 
a red nose and blurred eyes, and to see who 
had come in without knocking. Then she 
went on crying harder than ever. 

Molly shut the door with a slam and said : 

For mercy’s sake, do tell me what’s the 
matter? Are you hurt? Do you want a 
doctor ? Or are some of your friends dead ? ” 

Mamie shook her head and finally controlled 
herself sufficiently to sob out : 

“1^0, M-m-molly. It’s mv heart! It’s 
broke ! ” 

“ Oh, well, if that’s all, you’ll get over it ! 
They always do ! I’ve been there myself, and 
I know that state don’t last long. You better 
get up and wash your face while I make the 
bed.” And Molly proceeded energetically to 
throw open the windows and shake up the 
pillows. 

Oh Molly I You don’t know. You never 
was crossed in love ! ” wailed the miserable 
girl, without stirring, and then she sobbed the 
harder. 

Molly turned irately from the bureau where 
she had begun to dust. 


290 


A DAILY RATE:'> 


“ Crossed in fiddlesticks ! ” she said, sharply. 
“You’ll find you ain’t near so hard hurt as 
you think for. And as for me, I’ve had my 
chances in my time like other girls, and plenty 
of ’em at that, an’ I perferred to live single. 
It’s much more independent. It’s my opinion 
you ain’t old enough to be away from home 
anyway. You better go back to your ma if 
you’ve got one.” 

But as this only set Miss Mamie to crying 
the harder, the perplexed Molly marched down 
to find Miss Grant and report the case. 

“ Miss Grant, you’re needed up there in that 
three-center room. That silly thing is actin’ 
like a fool over some poor sickly fellow, that 
couldn’t support her ef she got him, I s’pose. 
She says she’s been crossed in love an’ her 
heart’s broke, an’ she’s cry in’ fer dear life. 
It’s my opinion she better be crossed with a 
good spankin’, an’ I wouldn’t feel sorry to be 
the one to give it to her neither.” 

But the latter part of this sentiment was 
lost upon her hearer who had already started 
with swift steps for the third story. 

A moment later Mamie felt a cool hand on 
her hot forehead, and Miss Grant stooped down 
and took her in her arms and kissed her. She 
was so surprised to be kissed, that she stopped 
crying for a minute. Then the sympathy of 


DAILY RATE.'' 


291 


the eyes that met hers started her tears afresh, 
and she buried her head in the motherly arms 
held out to her and cried like a hurt child who 
had found a comforter. After she had cried a 
few minutes and been soothed by the woman 
Avho seemed to have the gift of soothing from 
above, as others have a gift for music or paint- 
ing, she was able to tell her poor little sad, 
commonplace story. 

“ It was Mr. Harold Adams at the store. 
And he was awful handsome. The girls all 
thought so. I fell in love with him the first 
time I saw him. Yes ma’am, he was the head 
clerk there, all this winter he had charge. 
The owner went to Hew York and left him 
here to run the business. He was awful smart, 
they said. He used to pay me lots of atten- 
tion at first, and he’s told me many a time he 
loved me better than any one else ” — here she 
broke into fresh sobs — “ and it was only when 
that ugly girl with bleached hair and a pretty 
face came, he got to going with her, and now 
I’d planned a way to look nicer than her and 
get him back, and he’s been real nice to me for 
a whole week — she was away — they all said 
she was sick, but now it turns out she was get- 
ting ready to be married, and he’s to be sent 
to have full charge of a three-cent store up in 
Ohio, and they say she’s going along. The 


292 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


girls had it all ready to tell me this morning 
when I went in to the store, and they just 
couldn’t laugh enough at me, till I nearly sank 
through the floor. They was always jealous 
of me. First one twitted me an’ then another, 
till I got so mad and felt so bad I just come 
home. He’s a goin’ to marry her, they say, 
an’ it’s all been no use after all, an’ oh, my 
heart’s just broke ! ” 

It is commonly supposed that women who 
do not marry and have no children cannot 
enter into the feelings of young people, and 
are not able to sympathize with them. But 
God had somehow given this woman a sweet 
insight into natures in distress, which helped 
her to be able to give comfort wherever she 
went, to say the right word and do the right 
action. She bent down now and kissed the 
tear- wet face. 

“ You’re awful kind,” moaned poor Mamie. 
“ But you don’t know how it is yourself. Y^ou 
ain’t never been crossed in love.” 

A shadow of the passing of a great dark 
cloud, tipped with brilliant light, went across 
Miss Grant’s face, leaving the reflection of the 
light there, ere she spoke again. 

“Listen! Mamie,” she said, and her voice 
was very sweet and tender, and her eyes 
looked soft and dewy, as though she saw 


DAILY BATE:'> 


293 


things beyond the range of human vision, “ I 
want to tell you a story all about myself.” 

Yes, she actually went back to those dear, 
bright days so long ago, when she had found a 
kindred spirit and had lived in a sweet elysium 
of hope, and dreamed those rose-colored visions 
of youth. Some women would have counted 
it a desecration to the memory of her dead 
hopes and sacred love before the eyes of a vul- 
gar girl who wept over a man a hundredfold 
more vulgar; would have thought it an evi- 
dence of lack of good taste and delicacy to do 
so. Not so this woman. Had she not sent 
swift petitions to the throne as she came up 
the stairs asking for guidance ? She felt in her 
heart that this story of hers, which had never 
before passed her lips to mortal ear, told here, 
might help this poor, friendless, untaught girl : 
might, perhaps, lead her to see life in a differ- 
ent way, and to begin to try to live it for the 
God above, instead of for her own selfish 
pleasure. And she knew the man she had 
loved, who had been in heaven these years, 
well enough to be certain he would be glad 
also to have her tell the story, if it could in 
any wise help a soul to find comfort. And so 
she told it, simply and eloquently. She even 
let herself dwell on the tender passages, the 
little things that make such a story beautiful 


294 


A DAILY BATE:^ 


in the eyes of a girl. She spoke about the 
flowers he had sent her, the pretty, simple 
gowns she had worn that he admired, and the 
ribbon he s.tooped and kissed, as it floated from 
her throat, that last time he parted from her, 
saying she would soon be with him now to 
stay ; and how she treasured it yet. 

Before she was half way through. the story, 
Mamie had dried her eyes and sat up on the 
bed, her face expressing intense interest. She 
had forgotten her own troubles in the trouble 
of another. Her tears, which were dried on 
her own sorrows soon flowed silently for Miss 
Grant. She wondered at that peaceful face, 
which shone bright even through tlie mist that 
would gather in her eyes, as she told of the 
dark days when her hopes were taken from 
her, and of the time when she wandered about 
forlorn, until the Lord spoke to her and com- 
forted her. When the story was finished, 
Mamie found she could look up and talk. She 
seemed to have risen above her recent grief. 
There was a longing for something in her 
heart, she scarcely knew what. 

“ I always thought it would be an awful 
thing to be an old maid,” she said, bluntly, “ but 
if I could look like you, and be like you, I would- 
n’t mind it — not much ! ” There was a look of 
admiration on her face. It was not much en- 


DAILY RATEA'> 


295 


couragement, but Miss Grant was not one who 
let her work depend upon results. She went 
steadily on talking, cheering, advising, drawing 
out the girl, until she had a pretty thorough un- 
derstanding of what her life had been hitherto. 
She did not wonder that the heart seemed 
broken, nor that what seemed to the poor girl 
to be the life love had been freely given to an 
unworthy object. What better had been set 
before the girl ? She had been untaught and 
unguided. Before she left her, Mamie had 
confided to her the story of her Bible reading 
and of all her thoughts about the garments of 
fine linen, and this missionary of the Most 
High had sifted out from the chaff of foolish 
talk and worldly longings the grain of earnest 
desire after better things and found joy, the 
joy of encouragement in it. She even knelt 
beside the girl with her arm about her waist, 
and praj^ed for her as Mamie had never heard 
herself prayed for before, and then, instead of 
sending her back to the atmosphere of selfish 
strivings and silly thoughts of what should be 
noble things, she advised her to stay away 
from the three-cent store, at least for that day, 
and come down in the kitchen, as she had 
some work for her there which might take her 
mind off her trouble for a little while. 

It is true that Molly sniffed when she saw 


206 


A DAILY EATE:^ 


her come into the kitchen with her red eyes 
washed and a white apron on, but Miss Grant 
wisely sent Molly to work in another part of 
the house, and herself carefully inducted the 
awkward novice into the mysteries of making 
some most delectable cake, to be used in the 
celebration of Miss Burns’ birthday that even- 
ing. It spoke well for Miss Grant’s ability to 
read human nature, that she chose cake to 
teach Mamie. If it had been a lesson in 
bread-making or how to cook potatoes, it is 
doubtful if the girl would have been inter- 
ested. Cake, now, somehow, seemed “ sort of 
stylish,” and belonged to the festive side of 
eating; therefore she enjoyed learning how to 
make it nicely, and she came to the dinner- 
table that evening beaming with satisfaction 
over the cake which she had iced and decorated 
with smilax and candles herself. She told 
them all that she made the cake, and it re- 
ceived much praise, especially from Bob 
Yates, who asked for a second piece and 
said some low words of commendation that 
brought a smile and a bright flush into the 
girl’s face, just as Molly passed the ice cream 
which was also a part of the evening’s cele- 
bration. 

“ H’m 1 ” said that worthy woman coming 
out into the kitchen the better to converse 


DAILY EATEA^ 


297 


with herself, “ I thought so ! She’s got over 
it sooner than most of ’em. It generally takes 
over night at least just to let the glue dry, but 
she must have used some lightnin’ stuff. Her 
heart ain’t more’n skin deep anyway.” 


CHAPTER XXIIL 


The days that followed were filled with 
new things for Mamie Williams. However 
shallow her hurt had been it was deep enough 
to make her shrink decidedly from returning 
to the store. The young man whose charms 
had fascinated her was not yet gone, and Miss 
Simmons brought word from day to day that 
there had been delay in sending him away. 
The yellow haired girl seemed to have re- 
turned to her place behind the candy counter. 
After this report had gone on for about a 
week, Mamie suddenly manifested a. desire to 
return to her position, with the expressed hope 
that she might still win her lover back, but 
Miss Hannah, feeling that this might be the 
turning point in her life, had a long talk with 
her, the result of which was that she appeared 
in the kitchen an hour after, with red eyes, a 
meek air and a clean gingham apron and made 
herself generally useful. Molly, who had kept 
herself informed of the state of the case nodded 
approval and announced to Miss Grant at the 
first opportunity that she didn’t know but that 
girl had some chance of growing a little sense 
after all. 

298 


A DAILY bate: 


299 


It is doubtful whether Mamie’s resolution 
would have outlasted the next day, however, 
had not several things occurred to strengthen 
what Miss Grant had said to her during that 
long earnest talk. The first was the announce- 
ment that the charming Mr. Harold Adams 
had departed from the city to parts unknown, 
taking with him a goodly portion of the prof- 
its of the three-cent business, which he had, 
by a careful system of bookkeeping, been lay- 
ing up for himself against this day. Neither 
had the yellow-haired girl shared in his booty. 
She seemed to be as happy as ever, and as the 
days went by was reported to be ‘‘ making up ” 
to the new head of the business, who had come 
to straighten out affairs. 

Mamie, on the announcement of this news, 
betook herself to her room for a whole morn- 
ing, where she cried and was angry alter- 
nately, and from whence she came out a wiser 
and a meeker maiden, quite ready to do what 
Miss Grant should ask of her, and to look for 
another position. But that lady was in no 
haste to urge the girl to apply for another 
position. Life in such a store, as Mamie would 
be likely in her present stage of development, 
to get into, was too dangerous and risky a 
thing for the unformed girl, who seemed to 
be hesitating on the brink of better things. 


300 


A DAILY RATE:^ 


After careful thought, and much discussion 
with Celia, Miss Grant told Mamie that she 
would like it very much, if she would be will- 
ing to help her for two or three weeks, with 
upstairs work, sweeping and table setting, un- 
til she could find another second girl who 
suited her. She told her she would give her 
what she had been paying to the second girl 
who had just left, and that she would of 
course have her board, so that she might be 
able to look about her leisurely for the right 
place, and still lose nothing by being out of 
work. Mamie, after a struggle with her 
pride, and reiterating many times to her 
roommate that she only did this for a few 
days as a favor to Miss Grant, finally accepted, 
and was somewhat surprised that she was not 
scoffed at by Miss Simmons for “ doing house- 
work,” which to the minds of both girls had 
always been menial service quite beneath them. 

But it turned out that Miss Simmons had 
other things to think of than Mamie Williams’ 
affairs. It was scarcely three weeks after 
Mamie had left the three-cent store, when it 
was discovered that the said Miss Simmons 
had “ eloped ” with the friend of the oily 
youth who had been visiting her. Just what 
she had eloped from, as she had no friends or 
kindred in the city who seemed in the least in- 


DAILY RATE.^^ 


301 


terested in her welfare, it was perhaps hard to 
make out, but she left a note in Mamie’s Sun- 
day dress pocket stating that she had eloped, 
and bidding an affectionate farewell. It was 
no more than was to have been expected. Miss 
Grant thought afterward, as she turned over 
pile after pile of romantic, third-class, sensa- 
tional novels in the closet, after the departure 
of the young girl, but she sighed and brushed 
away a tear, that she had not been permitted 
to help this girl also. She had by this' time 
some hopes of Mamie. The affair of Miss 
Simmons, she feared, might perhaps upset her, 
and excite her desire for some romance her- 
self, but happily it worked the other way, 
rather frightening her, and making her cling 
close to Miss Grant, asking her advice daily 
and almost hourly. This effect became still 
more salutary when it was learned some days 
after that the young man with whom Miss 
Simmons had eloped had already a wife in 
another state. During the passage of these 
events Mamie cried a good deal, but there was 
growing in her face the shadow of a sweet 
Avomanliness which gave promise of Avhat 
might be in the future if all things went well. 
She had not even the brakeman to brighten 
this hard time for her, for he had been sent 
out West on some special work by one of the 


302 


A DAILY ILiTDA 


heads of the road, and would not return for a 
month. Mamie learned to efface herself some- 
what, and gradually seemed to be cultivating 
some of Celia’s quietness and repose of manner. 
Celia, on her part, was much interested in the 
girl. She kept her in mind daily, and was al- 
ways trying to help her, and praying for her. 

“ I’m not sure, auntie, after all, but she may 
develop enough to become a ribbon girl some 
time,” she said one night, when Mamie had 
left them. 

Aunt Hannah smiled dreamily. She was 
beginning to have much hope of her young 
protegee herself. 

“Yes,” she said, with her far-away look in 
her eyes, “ she may be fit for the white linen 
dress ^ome day. Who knows ? ” 

“You mean the tailor-made one?” asked 
Cecil, mischievousl}". 

“The heavenly-made one, anyway, dear. 
She told me to-night that she was beginning 
to feel as if she really prayed like other 
people now.” 

There were other influences at work also. 
Mr. Stafford was holding meetings every night 
in the new chapel, and the boarders had as a 
family adopted, that church as their own. It 
Avas becoming a regular thing now for every 
one Avho was able, to attend service morning 


A DAILY RATE.'' 


303 


and evening on Sunday, and several of them 
had dropped in to the special meetings. Miss 
Hannah, Celia, and Mamie Williams had been 
there every night. Harry Knowles had joined 
the choir, and his friends rejoiced that at last all 
his evenings were securely filled for him. His 
face was bright and interested. He was en- 
thusiastic in sounding the praises of Mr. Staf- 
ford, and ready to do anything to help in the 
church work, though as yet he did not seem to 
have made any move to number himself among 
the Christians. Celia was deeply interested in 
a class of big boys who were most of them be- 
ginning to attend the services. She kept her- 
self in the background with them as much as 
possible. Ho one could say of her that she 
was trying to get the attention of the minister. 
She tried with all her might to keep away 
from him, insomuch, sometimes, that he noticed 
it and was puzzled and troubled, hie some- 
times sat with his ejms shaded by his hand up 
in his room when he was weary with his work, 
and thought about it. Did she dislike him ? Or 
was there some one else who so filled her life 
that she had no desire to have other friends ? 
More and more her sweet, womanly face, and 
her pleasant waj^s were making their impres- 
sion upon his mind. He began to confess it to 
himself by and by, and he thought of what his 


304 


A DAILY BATE.'^ 


friend Eoger Houston had said about finding 
a wife that night he had met him in search of 
a boarding-place. His heart told him that 
there was more possibility of such a thing 
happening than he would care to confess to his 
friend just yet. In fact, Mr. Houston had 
visited Mr. Stafford several times, and once 
had remained to dinner with him, since which 
time he had unreservedly gone over in favor 
of the new boarding-house, declaring that the 
cooking was as good as they had at his own 
home, though perhaps not quite so stylishly 
served. He had laughed, it is true, at Bob 
Yates, who that evening favored the house 
with one of his high-keyed solos, while Eoger 
and Mr. Stafford tried to talk in the latter’s 
room directly over the organ ; and he had mim- 
icked Miss Burns’ laugh — for he was a born 
mimic — and had denominated Mamie Williams 
and Carrie Simmons as “ giggling kids,” but 
he admired Miss Grant, and declared Celia to 
be artistic in the extreme. He kept talking 
about her after they came upstairs. He was 
an artist by profession, and he begged his 
friend to ask her to sit as a model for him, and 
was surprised at the prompt way the sugges- 
tion was squelched. He asked if Celia’s 
character was as fine as her face, and pondered 
much afterward over the slow thoughtful 


A DAILY RATEy 


305 


answer of his host, “ Yes, I think it is,” He 
was so possessed of the idea of catching Celia’s 
expression on canvas for a picture he had it in 
mind to paint, that he asked again as he was 
leaving, “And you don’t think you can ask 
that girl to sit for me, Horace ? I like that 
style of face awfully, and I don’t know just 
where else to turn for it.” 

“ I don’t think there is another face any- 
where just like hers,” answered the minister 
slowly again. 

“ How look here, Horace, you talk as if you 
were personally interested in her. Don’t go 
so far as that, I beg of you. You ought to 
marry a rich girl, for you never will allow 
yourself to get money any other way, unless 
you fall dead in love with it. Well, I suppose 
I may ask her myself. It won’t hurt my feel- 
ings, if she does refuse, you know. Where 
can I find her ? ” 

A firm line came around the minister’s 
mouth, as he said, decidedly, 

“ I would rather you would not do that, 
Eoger. She is not that kind of a girl.” 

Afterward, the young artist remembered 
his friend’s face, and whistled on his way 
home as he thought it over. 

But though Mr. Stafford had watched Celia 
for several months now, had seen her under 


306 


A DAILY RATE:^ 


varying and trying circumstances sometimes ; 
had shown her little attentions, which were 
the outcome of a frank talk he had within 
himself, wherein he confessed a deep interest 
in her, she still held aloof from him. Miss 
Grant had given up trying to make it out. 
Celia was too deep for her. 

Meantime Bob Yates came home from the 
West. He had been working hard and was 
glad to get back again. He had been pro- 
moted to an engineer’s position, and was off 
duty every evening now. He seemed much 
struck with the change in Mamie Williams. 
Miss Grant noticed it the first evening at din- 
ner. There was a deference about his manner 
when he addressed her that was ne^v. She 
noticed also its reflex influence on Mamie. 
Had she taken a lesson from Celia’s reserve, 
or were the influences of prayer and daily life 
about her, and her new hopes and resolves 
making the change ? Miss Grant wondered. 
Mamie flushed a little, but she drooped her 
eyes modestly, and was quite unobtrusive dur- 
ing the entire meal, a thing so unlike the old 
Mamie Williams that the contrast was marked. 
Bob Yates admired it evidently, for he cast 
many glances across the table at her, and his 
own loud, jolly voice seemed somewhat toned 
down, in harmony. 


DAILY RATE! 


307 


Celia passed through the hall behind them 
after dinner and heard Mamie shyly declining 
an invitation to the theatre. “ I'd like awful 
well to go, but we all go to meetin’ every 
night now,” she was saying. I promised in 
the meeting last night I’d bring somebody 
along to-night and I don’t just like to break 
my promise. Mebbe you’d just as soon go to 
meetin’ as the theatre to-night, then I’d have 
somebody to take to keep my promise with. 
The minister’s awful good, and the singin’ is 
fine. They’d like your voice in the choir, I 
know.” 

And so Bob Yates willingly gave up the 
theatre to go to meeting. He was not greatly 
concerned where he took his amusement. The 
theatre had no especial attraction for him, but 
he had thought of it because Mamie had once 
told him she would rather go to the theatre 
than anywhere else in the world. In fact, the 
prospect of a “ good sing ” was rather more 
enticing in itself than sitting still and listen- 
ing to the singing of other people. 

That night the minister was very much in 
earnest. He preached a soul searching ser- 
mon. Some of Celia’s boys arose, when at the 
close of the sermon the invitation was given 
for all who would like to belong to Christ to 
stand with those who were Christians during 


308 


A DAILY BATE.' 


the singing of a hymn. Mamie sat quite still, 
her cheeks pink and her eyes downcast during 
the singing of the first verse and part of the 
second. She held one side of the hymn book 
with Bob Yates and her hand trembled a little. 
He was singing with his usual fervor the deep, 
heart-stirring words, but Mamie did not sing. 
Just as the second verse was nearly finished, 
she suddenly rose with a jerk and an embar- 
rassed countenance, leaving the singing book 
in the hands of the man by her side. He 
looked up astonished, and went on singing, 
but not quite so loud as before, and his words 
seemed to be getting mixed up. He fidgeted 
on his chair, and when they began to sing the 
next verse, he arose also and stood beside 
Mamie, offering her again the book. She took 
it, looking down, her heart fluttering gladly 
that he had arisen too, and kept her company, 
and so they stood until the benediction was 
pronounced. 

“ Say,” said Mamie, softly, when they had 
walked half of the way home in an embar- 
rassed silence, “ what did you mean by that ? 
Did you mean what the minister said ? What 
made you do it ? ” 

“ Mean it ? ’Course I did ! ” answered Bob, 
heartily. “ My mother used to be a good 
woman, an’ I’ve always meant to turn that 


DAILY RATE.^^ 


309 


way some time myself. The first time I ever 
heard Mr. Stafford, I made out he was more’n 
half-way right, an’ to-night I thought so again. 
I don’t know as I should ’a’ said so out’n out 
fer folks to see, ef you hadn’t, but I calculated 
1 wanted to be on that side ef you was, so I 
stood up. Why ? ” 

“ Well, I didn’t know,” said Mamie, embar- 
rassedly, “ I Avas afraid mebbe you just did it 
out o’ politeness. But I’m real glad you 
meant it.” 

‘‘ Are you ? Sure ? ” He looked at her 
searchingly by the light of the next street 
lamp, and then added, “ Well, I don’t mind 
tollin’ you ’twas you that did it. That what 
you said about wearin’ a white dress got me 
to thinkin’. You seem most’s if you Avas 
Avearin’ it yourself since I come home. I 
didn’t know but ’twas my ’magination, but 
Avhen I see you get up in meetin’, I kneAV it 
Avas that there Avhite dress in the Bible you 
Avas Avearin’. I mostly made up my mind 
Avhile I AAms out to Ohio, I Avanted to be fit to 
Avalk along side o’ you.” 

Mamie’s heart fairly stood still Avith a joy 
she had not known before and only half un- 
derstood. It Avas the joy of having helped 
another immortal soul to find the Light. 

“I’m only just startin’ myself,” she mur- 


310 


A DAILY BATE. 


mured low. “ I ain’t half fit for that white 
dress yet, but I’m goin’ to try, an’ I’m awful 
glad you think I helped you.” 

“ Well, then, let’s start out together, and 
mebbe we can help each other,” he said, and 
she murmured with downcast eyes, “All 
right,” as he grasped her hand in a hearty clasp, 
and then helped her up the steps into the 
house. 

Other young men had, on occasion, clasped 
Mamie’s hand in more or less hearty grasp on 
the way home from places of amusement, but 
no hand ever touched in her the chord of such 
true, healthful, honest friendship, and purpose 
to do right. She felt as though she had been 
uplifted in some way and yet she knew not 
how nor why. 

A little later Harry Knowles sat in Miss 
Grant’s little private sitting-room, his head 
leaning on his hand, his whole attitude in- 
dicative of deep thought. 

“ I tell you. Miss Grant,” he had been say- 
ing, “it was that three-cent girl. When I saw 
her stand up there all by herself, right in 
the middle of a hymn, too, when no one else 
was rising, it made me ashamed. Here was I 
who had been brought up to pray and read 
the Bible and know how to be good, and had 
a good mother, sitting still; and that girl. 


DAILY RATEA^ 


311 


who never had any bringing up to amount to 
much I guess, coming^ right away as soon as 
she was asked. I can’t stand it any longer, 
and I wanted to talk to somebody about it, so 
I came to you. I knew you would help me, 
and it would seem some like having mother to 
tell it to. I’ve made up my mind to be a 
Christian. Yes, I’ll tell the minister by and 
by, but I wanted to talk to you first, and he 
was busy anyway. But I don’t know as I’d 
ever have done it, if it hadn’t been for Mamie 
Williams to-night.” 

Yerily the mysteries of influence in this 
world are great, and past understanding, and 
we cannot tell if our actions may not affect 
the eternal welfare of some one whom we 
have never seen. 

Certainly, Mamie Williams, as she sat read- 
ing her Bible that night, did not dream that 
she had helped to bring Harry Knowles to 
Christ. 


“ Hast thou not garnered many fruits 
Of other’s sowing, whom thou knowest not ? 
Canst tell how many struggles, sufferings, tears, 
All unrecorded, unremembered all. 

Have gone to build up what thou hast of good ? ” 


CHAPTER XXIY. 


Celia Murray had gone to her room and 
locked the door. It was just after church, 
and aunt Hannah was busj in the kitchen. 
It was the only time during the day when she 
might hope to have entire possession undis- 
turbed, of the room which she shared with her 
aunt. She could not remember a time in her 
life before, when she would have cared whether 
her aunt came in upon her, or came to the door 
and found it locked, or not, but this time she 
did. She wanted to be entirely alone and face 
her own heart. 

The winter had passed by on rapid feet, and 
they were well on into the spring. The meet- 
ings which had been held in the little chapel 
had continued for several weeks, and during 
that time Harry Knowles and Mamie Williams 
and Bob Yates had professed publicly their 
faith in Jesus Christ. The University student 
had taken his church letter out of its hiding- 
place in his trunk and put it into Mr. Staf- 
ford’s church, and the school-teacher had sent 
to his far-away home for his and both were 
working hard for the salvation of others. 
Family worship had been established daily in 
312 


A DAILY BATE." 


313 


the boarding-house, not in -the morning, be- 
cause the coming and going of the boarders 
was at such different hours that it would 
scarcely have been possible to get them all 
together, but in the early evening, just after 
the six o’clock dinner, while they still sat 
about the table. No one was obliged to stay, 
but all chose to, unless called away by some- 
thing urgent. Mr. Stafford conducted it, and 
read a very few verses and prayed. Once 
or twice, when he had been absent for a day. 
Miss Grant had read part of a chapter, and 
asked Harry Knowles once, and once the 
brakeman to pray, and they had each done 
so ; stuniblingly and with few words, it is 
true, but Miss Hannah had been glad and 
gone about her daily work feeling joy at the 
place in which the Lord had set her. 

They had grown to be a very pleasant fam- 
ily, in spite of the various elements of charac- 
ter and up-bringing which they represented. 
They talked about their abiding-place as 
HOME, and each one felt it to be that in the 
true sense of the word. Miss Grant had taken 
care to observe each birthday with some little 
unusual festivity in the way of eatables, and 
at Christmas and other holidays they made 
merry enough to forget, most of them, that 
they were away from their own kindred. 


314 


DAILY BATE.^^ 


Mr. Stafford had grown to be a part of the 
household so fully that it would have brought 
dismay to each one if there had been a thought 
of his leaving. Even Celia had unbent, and 
he and she had become good comrades in a 
way, though there was always a dignified 
barrier which Celia kept up, which prevented 
his showing her any of the ordinary attentions 
which young men like to show to the young 
women whom they admire. Having quieted 
her conscience by keeping up this wall of con- 
ventionality and excusing herself from any- 
thing of a social nature which he offered her, 
she shut her eyes to consequences and enjoyed 
his presence in the house. How could she do 
otherwise ? She read the books he loaned 
her, and conversed about them with him after- 
ward, and she visited the poor and sick for 
him sometimes and took them little delicacies. 
There had been times, it is true, when it troub- 
led her that she let herself enjoy his society 
as much as she did, but she had been learning 
during the winter months to put this aside and 
think no more about it. Occasionally she 
prayed to be delivered from a trouble which 
she sometimes saw hovering like a shadowy 
cloud over her own life, and looking at aunt 
Hannah resolved to trust the Lord to make 
her what he would have her to be, even if it 


A DAILY RATE:^ 


315 


must be in spite of sorrow, as be had done 
with her aunt. But now a time had come 
when Celia must face her heart ancf under- 
stand herself. If it was to be that she must 
come out of the ordeal bowed in spirit, then 
she must face it and accept it, but she must 
understand herself now. 

It had come to a sudden crisis in this way. 

Mr. Stafford had been away for nearly two 
weeks. A telegram had come to him, when 
Miss Grant was out. Molly had taken it up 
to him and a little while afterward had been 
surprised to see him standing in the kitchen 
door, his grip and umbrella in hand, and a 
drawn, anxious look upon his face. He told 
Molly to tell Miss Grant he had been called 
away by tidings of sudden illness and did not 
know how long he would be gone. They had 
heard nothing from him until Saturday even- 
ing of that week, when his friend Koger Hous- 
ton had called to get some church notices 
from Mr. Stafford’s room to hand to the min- 
ister who was to supply the pulpit the next 
day. 

It was Celia who opened the door for him 
and showed him to the second story front 
room. With a possible view to prosecuting 
his petition that she would give him a sitting 
some time, he lingered a moment. 


316 


DAILY BATEA' 


“ It is very sad indeed/’ he remarked to 
Celia, as though she knew all about the mat- 
ter. “ You knew there was no hope of her 
life? Oh, haven’t you heard? Well, I sup- 
pose Stafford has had hisxhands too full of 
other things to think of writing. He gave me 
no particulars, only said all hope was gone and 
she could linger but a few days longer at most. 
He asked me to get this man to preach, and 
arrange everything for him. It will be very 
hard for him, he depended upon her so much. 
There was a peculiarly close relationship be- 
tween them. He never missed writing to her 
regularly and some of her letters were won- 
derful. He read bits of them to me once or 
twice. She was a wonderful character. He 
will miss her immeasurably.” 

Then Mr. Houston looked up from the 
papers he had selected from the minister’s 
table, to the face of the girl who stood silent 
in the doorway. He was wondering whether 
he dared venture to ask her to let him sketch 
her face some time, but when he looked at her 
he remembered his friend’s words, “ She is not 
that kind of a girl,” and concluded that his 
friend had been right, and it would be better 
not to ask her this time. He wondered what 
it was about her that made it seem impossible 
for him to speak to her about it, as he would 


A DAILY bate: 


317 


to many another pretty girl just as nice and 
refined as she was. He fancied as he looked 
again that she was white about the mouth, 
but, of course, that must have been all his 
fancy. 

It was not until late the next Saturday 
night, after all the house had retired, that 
Horace Stafford returned to Philadelphia, and 
letting himself quietly in with his latchkey, 
went to his room. They did not know he had 
returned the next morning at breakfast time, 
for one and another were wondering who 
would preach, and saying they wished their 
own minister was back, that they did not 
know whether they cared to go to church or 
not, and all those other things people will say 
when they love a minister, just as if he was 
their God, that they went to church to wor- 
ship him, and when he was absent they had no 
object for worship. He had called to Molly, 
as she passed through the hall early in the 
morning, and asked her for a cup of coffee, 
and told her not to mind if he did not come to 
breakfast, as he needed all his time for prep- 
aration, having been away so long. He had 
gone to church early, while those who were 
going out were dressing, so that it was not un- 
til she was seated in church and saw the little 
study door open, and the minister walk out 


318 


A DAILY BATE I' 


and into the pulpit, that Celia knew that 
Horace Stafford was back with them again. 

She had gone through many changes of 
feeling since the night when Roger Houston 
had spoken those few commonplace words to 
her. She had not asked him then what he 
meant, nor who it was who was lying so low, 
who was so dear to Mr. Stafford. Instinctively 
she knew. It was the young woman of the 
pictured face, so sweet and lovely, within 
that velvet frame. Something had arisen in 
her throat while she listened, that froze the 
words she would have spoken, an expression 
of sympathy for him, and her heart was filled 
with conflicting emotions. She had dreaded 
Mr. Stafford’s return. It was as if she had 
had her convictions verified now, and know- 
ing his heart was engaged she wished to put 
him entirely from her thoughts. It seemed 
impossible though, for constantly the surmises 
would come up among the boarders, why Mr. 
Stafford was away, when he would return, 
etc. She obliged herself to repeat a few of 
Mr. Houston’s sentences, a very few it is true, 
so few that the boarders were left in doubt as 
to whether the one who was lying so low and 
keeping the minister away was man, woman 
or child, and when Miss Burns asked if she 
knew whether it was one of the family, his 


A DAILY BATE. 


319 


mother, perhaps, Celia answered briefly, ‘‘ He 
did not say,’’ and then wondered if she had 
done wrong in not telling what she was so 
certain of, though she silenced her conscience 
by saying that Mr. Stafford might not care to 
have them know he was engaged at all. Then 
Celia had tried to fill the week with earnest 
hard work. She had succeeded in persuading 
Dobson & Co. to let her induct Mamie Wil- 
liams into the ribbon business, with a view to 
possibly succeeding her sometime in the future, 
and she found that she was able to keep busy. 
Mamie was a tractable enough pupil, and 
growing quick to appreciate the fine distinc- 
tions in manner and actions which Celia strove 
to inculcate. But there was still room for im- 
provement, and Celia worked early and late 
at her chosen task, moulding the young 
woman’s character as carefully and eagerly 
as though she had been an artist making a 
model for some marvelous statue. 

‘‘ When you get her done, Celia dear, I’m 
afraid she will be too good for the engineer, 
and I can see he wants her,” said Miss Hannah, 
Avith a quiet smile. 

“Well, that’s all right, auntie dear,” said 
Celia, Avith a thoughtful sigh. “ He’ll make 
her a good husband, and I don’t believe she’ll 
be too good for him. It seems to me her in- 


320 


A DAILY rate:' 


fiuence on him has been wonderful. He seems 
to change as fast as she does. I never would 
have dreamed it last fall.” 

“ I thought so, dear. Do you remember the 
talk we had about him some time ago ? There 
is more good in most people than we suspect. 
You have to live with them awhile to find it 
out,” said Miss Grant. 

“You mean you have to live with them, 
auntie, and I have to live with you to find out 
about them. I never would have found all 
these boarders out in the world, if you hadn’t 
been here with your ‘saint’s eyes’ to read 
them.” 

Miss Hannah smiled, but she watched Celia 
furtively and wished that she could read her, 
and understand what made the little cloud 
which seemed to settle down upon her usually 
bright girl and make her heavy hearted these 
da3"s. 

But to go back to church. Celia’s heart 
throbbed painfully when she saw the minister 
walk into the pulpit. She knew by his face 
that his dear one was dead. It was not that 
his face wore a look of bitter grief, it was 
rather one of chastened exaltation. He 
preached a sermon about heaven that morn- 
ing that seemed as though it had been written 
by one who had recently been very near to 


DAILY RATEA^ 


321 


the portals, seen them open and caught 
glimpses of friends, and of Jesus within. 
Celia forgot her heart throbs and listened, 
forgetting, too, for the time who was preach- 
ing, in the absorption of the words he spoke. 
She had had a struggle to keep back the tears 
during the closing hymn, when they sang; 

“And with the morn those angels’ faces smile, 

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.” 

She knew why Mr. Stafford had selected it. 
He sat during the singing with shaded brow 
and bowed head. Celia could not sing. She 
felt as if she were choking. She turned as 
soon as the benediction was pronounced and 
the solemn hush following it broken, to hide 
her tears by searching for her umbrella which 
had rolled beneath the seat. When she rose 
again and turned around, the minister was 
standing in the aisle beside her. He put out 
his hand and clasped hers, and a light of joy 
lit up his face which looked pale and worn, as 
he said, “ I am so glad to see you again.’’ 

They were commonplace words. He might 
have used them to any member of his congre- 
gation ; yes, and with the same tone and look 
too, perhaps, she told herself as she hurried 
excitedly homeward, but they sent a thrill of 
mingled joy and sorrow through the young 


322 


A DAILY BATE. 


girl which she did not understand and could 
not control. One minute she was fiercely 
glad, and the next minute she was plunged 
in a whirl of shame and despair that it had 
affected her so. And now she was locked into 
her room. She took off her hat and coat and 
sat down, but she could not think. She could 
only feel the joy, and the certainty that it was 
not hers. She tried to face herself and shame 
herself with saying plainly to her heart, 
“Celia Murray, you have fallen in love with 
Mr. Stafford. Yes, and you did it when you 
knew he belonged to another woman. Yes, 
you knew it well enough, though you wanted 
to pretend that maybe it was not so, because 
no one had told you so. But now you love 
him and he does not love you ! He has just 
buried his heart, and you know you would not 
consider him the noble gentleman you think 
he is, if he should forget that love that was ‘ so 
peculiarly close in its relationship.’ And you 
love him in the fade of that ! Aren’t you 
ashamed ! He does not love you, and he never 
will, and you must not let him, and oh — what 
shall I do ? ” 

The poor girl threw herself upon her knees 
and begged for forgiveness and help. She felt 
she had done wrong to let her heart grow in- 
terested so easily. She trie4 to remember 


A DAILY RATE I' 


323 


some of God’s gracious promises for help, and 
to remember that he would bear her trouble 
for her, but her head seemed in a whirl of ex- 
citement and she could not think connectedly. 
She heard the dinner bell ring, and she rose 
and bathed her face, but decided she would 
not go down. She wanted to be by herself. 
Molly came up pretty soon and asked what 
was the matter. She told Molly to tell aunt 
Hannah she had a headache, and would not 
come down now, and then she bathed her 
throbbing temples and lay down to try and 
grow calm before aunt Hannah should come 
as she felt sure she would. 

Wise aunt Hannah ! She knew something 
was amiss ! She had not watched her girl in 
vain. She had seen the start and the change 
of color when the minister came into the pulpit 
and again when he took her hand ; she had 
seen other things during the months which had 
passed. Just what the trouble was she did not 
understand, and she would not ask Celia yet. 
If Celia needed counsel, she felt certain she 
would confide in her sooner or later. In the 
meantime she could pray. 

Miss Hannah did not go up to her room for 
some time. Instead, she arranged a dainty 
tray with a tempting little lunch and a fragrant 
cup of tea. Under the corner of the napkin 


324 


A DAILY bate:'' 


she had slipped a little note which was merely 
a scrap of poetry with the penciled words above 
it, “ Dear child ; ” written hastily. It read : 

“ Dear child: 

“ ‘ God’s plans for thee are graciously unfolding, 

And leaf by leaf they blossom perfectly, 

As yon fair rose from its soft enfolding. 

In marvelous beauty opens fragrantly. 

Oh, wait in patience for thy dear Lord’s coming. 

For sure deliverance he’ll bring to thee ; 

Then, how thou shalt rejoice at the fair dawning 
Of that sweet morn which ends thy long captivity. ’ ” 

Then she laid beside it a lovely rosebud 
which Harry Knowles had brought her the 
night before, and sent the tray up by Molly. 
She herself went to the third story, and read 
to Mrs. Belden nearly all the afternoon. 


CHAPTER XXY. 


Celia aroused herself from her unhappiness 
in time to hurry to her Sunday-school class. 
She purposely went late that she might not be 
obliged to walk with any one, and she intended 
to hurry home before any of the others from 
their house had left the chapel, but it so hap- 
pened that one of her scholars had a sad tale 
to tell her of trouble and need, and she was 
obliged to linger and get the particulars. 
There was an address to be taken down and 
several items of information she would need in 
helping him to find work. When this w^as 
done and she glanced hurriedly round to see if 
the others w^ere gone, she saw that one of her 
boys was lingering with an embarrassed ex- 
pression, half smiling, half doubtful, as though 
he might wish to speak a word with her. 
Something told her that this heart was ready 
for a quiet personal word and here was the 
time. The other boarders were gone, the 
minister with hat in hand was standing by the 
front door talking with a man. He was evi- 
dently about to go also. There were one or 
two groups in earnest conversation, a teacher 


326 


A DAILY BATE.^’ 


with two of her class, three women in a corner, 
and a young man and a young girl 'talking. 
‘‘ Ben,” she said, can you sit down and talk 
with me a few minutes ? ” 

The hunger for souls was awakened within 
the young teacher. Her own heart’s unrest and 
sadness made her long to plunge into some 
other interest. She put her whole soul into 
the words she spoke, and the young man 
listened intently. There was no doubt but 
that she had reached his heart and that he was 
on the point of yielding to the Holy Spirit. 
Celia prayed as she talked and forgot herself, 
forgot everything but her desire for this soul’s 
salvation. She listened to his hesitating, low 
words in answer to her earnestly put questions 
with bated breath. She could almost hear her 
own heart beat while she waited for his final 
decision, as he sat minute after minute thought- 
fully looking down at the toe of his rough, un- 
blackened shoe and trying to fit it between 
two nails in the floor, where the boards were 
somewhat worn away by the many feet that 
tramped over them. 

The decision was made at last, and the boy, 
with a furtive glance around him, drew his 
coat sleeve hurriedly across his eyes as he 
strode out of the room after having murmured 
an incoherent good-bye. 


DAILY rate:' 


327 


Celia stooped to pick up her rubbers which 
lay under the seat, and then looked about the 
deserted room. The sexton was doing some- 
thing to a refractory window, which refused 
to go up and down right. ^He was used to 
busying himself while lingerers kept the church 
open. Celia thought everybody else was gone, 
till, as she neared the door, the minister arose 
from one of the back seats and came toward 
her. 

“ Would you mind sitting down a few min- 
utes longer?” he said. “I want to tell you 
something, and it seems to me that I can tell 
it better here than anywhere else.” 

Celia felt her heart throbbing and her knees 
suddenly grew weak, so that she sat down 
more because she felt she could not stand 
without tottering than because Mr. Stafford 
had asked her to do so. The day had been an 
exciting .one for her, and her emotions had 
been stirred to their depths by the wonderful 
talk she had just had with the boy Ben. What 
could be coming now ? She could not under- 
stand, and yet she felt in some way that it 
would have to do with the things which had 
been hurting her so all day, and would prob- 
ably hurt her more. She passed her hand 
across her forehead wearily, and tried to brace 
herself to bear whatever might be said. Per- 


328 


A DAILY BATE.” 


haps he would ask for sympathy in his sorrow, 
and how could she give it? She sent up a 
swift prayer for help. 

Mr. Stalford must have seen the weary ex- 
pression and the piteous baffled look in her 
face, for a troubled one came over his own, as 
he took his seat in a chair near her, and asked, 
anxiously, 

“Are you too tired just now? Perhaps I 
ought to wait. I know you have been work- 
ing hard, and your work is telling, too, I could 
see by that boy’s face as he went out, tlaat he 
will be a different fellow from this time forth. 
Now, if you would rather go right home, please 
say so.” 

But there was a note in his voice of longing 
to be heard now, that made Celia push aside 
her desire to slip out of it on the plea of weari- 
ness and assert, a little coolly perhaps, that 
she could hear him now just as well as to wait. 

Her manner made his heart sink, but he be- 
gan what he had to say with a frank, “Well, 
then I’ll try not to keep you long. 

“ Miss Celia,” it was the first time he had 
ever called her that, though several of the 
other boarders had adopted it from hearing 
Molly Poppleton address her in that way, “ I 
do not know whether or not you know that I 
have been passing through deep waters during 


DAILY bate:' 


329 


the past week ; I have been by the deathbed 
and then by the grave of one Avho was very 
dear to me. I felt as though I wanted to tell 
you about her, not only because I need the 
sympathy which I know you can give, but be- 
cause she knew all about you and your work, 
and was deeply interested in you.” 

If Mr. Stafford had not been looking down 
and struggling to control his voice, so that it 
would be steady and without the deep emotion 
he felt, he would have noticed that Celia’s face 
grew swiftly white. It was worse then than 
she had feared. E’ot only was she asked to 
give sympathy, but this other woman had 
known all about her. They had talked her 
over together. Why this should seem so 
dreadful to the girl she could not quite under- 
stand, but at the time it seemed more than she 
could bear. It was well Mr. Stafford did not 
pause for a reply, for Celia would have been 
incapable of giving any just then. 

“ She had been ill for a long time,” he went 
on, his voice breaking a little, “ we knew she 
could not stay with us much longer, and yet, 
you Avill understand that it was hard to part 
with her.” 

He told in a few words of her beautiful life 
of sweet patience and cheerfulness in the face 
of pain that had endured for years, till Celia 


330 


A DAILY BATE. 


felt ashamed of her selfish jealousy, and longed 
to shut herself away from sight that she might 
cry in quiet. The great tears filled her eyes 
and fell unheeded on her hands. She felt her- 
self the meanest and smallest of mortals, and 
this other one beautiful and good and bright 
enough to be, as she was, with the angels. 
And yet her heart was very miserable. She 
longed to speak a word of sympathy, but 
knew that she could not, and blamed herself 
for it. 

‘‘ I want to show you her face,” he said, 
putting his hand in his breast pocket and 
bringing out a little velvet case, which Celia 
knew even through her blinding tears. He 
opened and placed it in her hands, the lovely 
face with its velvet-blue eyes looking into hers, 
as he said, “ She was my only sister, you knoAv, 
and she was so good to me.” Then the strong- 
man bowed his head on his hand and covered 
his eyes. 

He did not see Celia start, as he said this, 
but he heard the difference in her startled ex- 
clamation, 

“Your sister? Why! I thought!” — and 
then she stopped, and when he looked up, as 
he did at once, her face had changed from 
white to rosy red. 

He looked at her face, lovely behind its 


A DAILY BATE. 


331 


tears and blushes, and read the dawning sym- 
pathy, and was glad, even in his sorrow. 

“ You thought what, — may I know ? ” 

“Why, I — ” said Celia, embarrassed and 
hesitating, blushing deeply, “I — I did not 
know you had only one sister ! ” she finished, 
desperately. 

“ But what was it you thought ? May I 
not know ? ” he asked again, with a searching 
look at her face. 

“ JN’o,” said Celia, dropping her eyes to the 
picture, and trying to hide her embarrassment 
by wiping away the tears with her handker- 
chief. 

“Then may I tell you and you will say 
whether I am right ? ” asked the minister, a 
daring light coming into his eyes. “You 
thought that she was some one even nearer, 
and dearer than a sister ? ” 

He looked at her long and earnestly and 
seemed to be satisfied with the answer of her 
mute, drooped face. 

“ Oh, Celia, did 3^ou not know that you were 
the only one who ever had or would occupy 
that place in my heart ? Have you not seen 
that I love you ? Don’t you know it ? and 
don’t you care, just a little, Celia ? ” 

The front chapel door stood open, and the 
afternoon spring sunshine was flickering fit- 


332 


DAILY BATE.'' 


fully across the floor. They could see the 
people on the street passing, loitering and 
talking, some looking curiously in as they 
passed, but none seeming to notice them. 
Celia felt it all as she sat dumb in the midst 
of a whirl of joy and sorrow and shame, and 
she knew not what else. She could not an- 
swer. She could not look up. The minister’s 
eyes were upon her, and she felt what the 
look in them would be, and knew she could 
not bear the joy of seeing it. The silence was 
long and could fairly be heard. The sexton 
who was growing hungry, came back from the 
little alcove where the primary class was held 
and where he had been straightening the 
chairs for the evening service and distributing 
hymn books. He drew quite near to them 
now, and slammed books and put down win- 
dows significantly. Celia, feeling that she 
must say something, murmured low, still with 
downcast eyes, “ How should I know it ? ” 

The minister laughed and then grew grave. 
“ That is true,” he said, “ I never could tell 
you, because you would not let me. But she 
knew it, and she was glad of it, and loved you, 
and left her blessing for you.” Then he 
turned suddenly to the sexton, a new tone in 
his voice. There was something about Celia 
that no longer discouraged him. 


A DAILY BATE,^ 


333 


“ Thomas/’ he said, ‘‘ I am going now. 
Will you kindly see if I left my Bible in the 
primary room ? ” 

Thomas went with alacrity to search the 
primary room. 

The minister watched the sexton until he 
had disappeared, and then he stooped swiftly 
and picked up Celia’s gloves which had fallen 
unheeded to the floor. As he handed them t<5 
her he reverently touched his lips to one of 
her little, cold, ungloved hands. She lifted 
her face for a moment, and in that moment he 
got his answer from her eyes. 

The sexton was coming back without the 
Bible, which the minister suddenly discovered 
to have been lying on the floor under his chair 
all the time, and the two stood decorously 
apart, Celia trying to keep her cheeks from 
growing redder, as she walked to the open 
door and looked out into the glad spring sun- 
shine, gladder than any sunshine her eyes had 
ever looked upon before. 

Some little child, perhaps, had dropped a 
flower upon the steps, and as she stood wait- 
ing for the minister, she saw it. It was then 
she remembered the rose on her lunch tray 
and its sweet message of hope 

“God’s plans for thee are graciously unfolding, 

And leaf by leaf they blossom perfectly.” 


334 


‘M DAILY RATEA^ 


Her heart thrilled over the joy that this had 
come true, while she realized that her happi- 
ness was yet only in the bud, and she could 
see the promise of the day-by-day opening of 
it for her. Oh, why had she been doubting ? 
Why could she not trust him perfectly ? She 
lifted her heart in one swift breath of peni- 
tence and thanksgiving. She felt in that first 
gush of joy that she would never doubt her 
Lord again. 

Then she turned to walk down the glorified 
street and gaze on the familiar surroundings 
under a halo of joy. 


CHAPTER XXYI. 


It was noon and it was June, and there was 
to be a wedding in Mrs. Morris’ boarding- 
house that Avas. It Avas not the wedding, that 
is the Avedding nearest and dearest to aunt 
Hannah’s heart ; that was to be later, and in 
the neAv chapel, and about it most of the 
boarders had not even heard, as yet. Later, 
Avhen they kneAv, the bridegroom of the first 
Avedding said it Avas a pity they had not fixed 
things up sooner, so they could have had a 
double Avedding ; that Avould have been “ real 
nice,” and Celia and Horace Stafford had 
looked meaningly at one another, and never 
hinted that such an arrangement would have 
been other than entirely satisfactory to them, 
provided “ things had been fixed up ” in time. 
They had their little quiet laugh over it, of 
course, and kept their secret. 

Meantime, the present Avedding Avas a source 
of deep interest to eA^ery member of the 
household. Each one contributed something 
to the general plans. The parlor, that used to 
be so dismal Avas itself in bridal array. The 
organ at the further end Avas literally smoth- 

335 


336 


A DAILY RATEy 


ered in palms. The palms and flowers were 
Mr. Roger Houston’s contribution. He was 
not a boarder, but he had become a frequent 
visitor at the house, and seemed to be as much 
interested as any one in the event. But the 
arrangement of the palms was Celia’s, and 
Celia was to sit behind them and play the 
wedding march in the softest, sweetest tones 
she could coax from the old organ. They 
made a lovely background for the bride and 
groom, and they completely hid the organ and 
the player. Under the mantelpiece and above 
it, where used to hang the crayoned visage of 
the deceased Mr. Morris, were more palms ; 
and the imitation-marble mantelpiece, which 
Celia always said looked as mottled as though 
it were made of slices of Bologna sausage, 
Avas covered with a bank of lovely roses, white 
and pink and yellow and crimson. If the 
wedding had been Celia’s, she Avould have pre- 
ferred to have the roses all white, but the 
bride in this case was extravagantly fond of 
color, and had declared herself in favor of 
“lots of roses all colors” so longingly, that 
Roger Houston said “ Let’s please her for once 
if she wants green roses, even if the white 
Avould be better taste. Miss Murray. It’s her 
first wedding, you know, and after all a rose 
is a rose.” 


A DAILY rate: 


337 


But the colors were arranged with Celia’s 
own skill, and no two colors dared but har- 
monize. 

Out in the dining-room the long white table 
was dressed in trailing vines of smilax, and 
roses ; and the largest and most orthodox 
wedding cake that could be procured occupied 
the place of honor. All about it were evi- 
dences of Molly Popple ton’s art, and every- 
thing spoke of readiness for the ceremony to 
begin. 

Up in her room the bride was being arrayed. 
The dress was a simple white muslin plainly 
made, but she was to wear a veil. It would 
perhaps have been more sensible to have worn 
a traveling dress, as she was to go away at 
once, but Mamie (for of course you know the 
bride was Mamie Williams, and the groom 
Bob Yates) had always cried and said she 
shouldn’t feel that she was really married if 
she didn’t wear white, when Miss Grant coun- 
seled economy and good sense. Seeing her 
heart so set they did not try to persuade her, 
but managed to change her purpose of pur- 
chasing a flimsy white silk which would never 
be of any use to her afterward, and persuaded 
her to take instead this simple white lawn. 
She had demurred, but finally consented. She 
was never wholly reconciled to the change, 


338 


A DAILY BATEA^ 


however, but was somewhat consoled by the 
fact that it was white and she was to have a 
veil. 

Celia herself dressed her hair and arranged 
the soft folds of the veil, and hissed her, and 
told aunt Hannah afterward that Mamie 
Williams was really lovely in her pretty array. 
Miss Hannah thought so too as she came up 
to give the girl a few last words, as her mother 
might have done, perhaps, had she been there. 
She found Mamie standing by her bureau with 
her open Bible before her. Miss Grant did 
not know that the white vision of herself in 
the glass had prompted her to turn to that 
first Bible verse of hers and read it over again, 
‘‘ And to her was granted that she should be 
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white ; for the 
fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” 
Hor could she know that the softened, glori- 
fied look on her face came from the thought 
in her heart that now, perhaps, even she might 
one day wear that pure heavenly dress of clean 
white linen, the garment of Christ’s own right- 
eousness. 

Bob Yates had saved up a nice little sum, 
and now there was waiting for them, not many 
blocks away, a new, neat house of four or five 
rooms, as daintily furnished as a bird’s nest. 
There Mamie was to put in practice the cul- 


DAILY RATE. 


339 


inary arts she had learned from Miss Grant 
and Molly Poppleton, and to entertain her 
friends, and some of the young girls with 
whom she had grown intimate during her time 
of selling ribbons with Dobson and Co., for 
she had attained to that and taken Celia’s 
place, and now in turn was to give it up to a 
young girl from the minister’s Sunday-school 
class. 

And they were to take a real wedding trip, 
too, like all the girls in the stories Mamie had 
read, in the days when she used to fancy Mr. 
Harold Adams held the key for her of all such 
delights. They were going to Atlantic City 
to a hotel for a whole delightful week, and 
then they were going to see Mamie’s mother, 
and all her little brothers and sisters, and her 
gruff, hard-working father. After that Bob 
Yates would take his bride to visit his married 
brother and sister out in Indiana — the far 
West, Mamie called it — and then they would 
come back to their little house and their new 
furniture, and their dear church and their re- 
spective Sunday-school classes. It was all very 
beautiful, and Mamie felt very happy and all 
the boarders felt happy for her. She went 
back in memory to the time when Mrs. Morris 
was there, and felt, rather than thought, how 
different her life was now, and in fact how 


340 


A DAILY EATE.'’> 


different everything was, and thanked God for 
the change. She thought of Carrie Simmons 
with a pang, and wished that she could have 
done something for her. Perhaps, if Miss 
Grant had come sooner Carrie might have been 
saved. Mamie had so far forgotten her old 
pride that she actually felt a little glad that 
Carrie could not look in from all her own sor- 
row and misfortune and shame and misery, in 
which she had heard she dwelt, and see her 
own joy and happy surroundings. 

Miss Grant had gone down to the kitchen 
to watch things while Molly Poppleton got on 
her best gown for the ceremony, and every- 
thing was progressing toward the last excit- 
ing minute, when the doorbell rang. The 
second girl who was setting chairs in the din- 
ing-room in the best possible way to economize 
room, went quietly to the door, her neat blue 
and white striped gingham and white wait- 
ress-apron and cap making a decided contrast 
to the slatternly Maggie who used to answer 
the door in Mrs. Morris’ time. 

The large oldish-looking woman, and the 
tall, grizzled man, unmistakably a farmer, who 
stood together on the step stared at the girl 
when the, door was opened, in undisguised 
amazement. 

“ Why ! ” said the woman at last, looking up 


DAILY BATE:^ 


341 


at the number over the door as if mistaken in 
her whereabouts, “isn’t this, — at least — isn’t 
this a boarding-liouse ? ” 

“Yes, it is,” responded the maid, “won’t 
you walk in ? Miss Grant is busy just now, 
that is she will be in a minute, but I guess 
she can see you first. Did you want to ^et 
board ? ” 

She had ushered them intp the bedecked 
parlor, Avhich happened at the moment to be 
entirely uninhabited, as the boarders were all 
in their rooms donning their gala attire. 

But she saw that they had evidently not 
heard her question, so telling them to be 
seated, she went for Miss Grant. 

The strangers, however, did not sit down. 
Instead, they stood staring around. 

“ For the land sake ! ” ejaculated the Woman 
at last, looking around her more and more be- 
wildered. 

“Wal, it’s pretty nice, ’pon honor, M’ria, I 
wonder now you ever give it up fer an ole fel- 
low like me,” and he looked at her quizzically. 

But the look was lost this time. She Avas 
taking in the familiar pattern of the carpet, 
Avliich somehoAV looked strangely bright, and 
noting all things new and old about the room. 

Then came Miss Grant Avith her soft grey 
cashmere, made more lovely by the cloud of 


342 


‘■‘A DAILY BATE/^ 


white tulle she wore about her neck, which 
seemed to blend so tenderly with the creamy 
white of her hair. 

She stood a moment looking doubtfully at 
the visitors, seeing something familiar about 
the woman’s face, but for an instant not rec- 
ognizing her. 

“Miss Grant, don’t 3^ou know me? I’m 
Mrs. Morris — leastways that used to be me 
name. I’m Mrs. Sparks now. I married out 
there in Ohio, and I’m real comfortably fixed. 
He ” — nodding her head toward the man — 
“ has a farm and a nice house, and owns sev- 
eral houses in the town besides. But I couldn’t 
rest comfortably noways, a-thinkin’ of you an’ 
the hole I left you in, an’ at last me husband 
found out what was the matter, an’ he just 
brought me on to see how you was gettin’ 
along, and to say he’d help you out of it, if 
you got badly stuck and pay some of the bills 
I left behind me, but when we got here every- 
thing looked so kind of different, somehow I 
couldn’t think ’twas me own house. You 
don’t look as if you was hard up. What’s the 
meanin’ of it all ennyway, an’ what’s goin’ 
on ? Are you expectin’ company ? ” 

Miss Grant’s face shone with welcome and 
her greeting was cordial, even in the midst of 
this busy time. 


DAILY RATEV 


343 


“We’re going to have a wedding in half an 
hour,” she said, “ and you’re just in time. They 
will both be delighted to have you here for 
they are two of your old boarders. And you 
can relieve your mind about me, for I’m not 
in any hole at all, and coming here was the 
best thing that ever happened to me in some 
ways. I’m grateful to you for giving me a 
full fledged boarding-house. I find every 
month that I am getting on a little more 
financially. It isn’t great riches, but it is 
sure.” 

“A wedding! For the land sake!” said 
Mrs. Morris-Sparks, sententiously. 

After Miss Grant had excused herself in 
haste, to answer a call from Molly, the guest 
called after her. 

“ It must be that nice niece of yours. Miss 
Murray, but I didn’t never think she’d take 
Bob Yates, she used to be so awful stiff with 
him, but land alive, you never can tell ! ” 

Miss Grant smiled to herself as she hurried 
down the hall. She would not explain now, 
as the visitor would soon see for herself. 

That evening, after all the guests were 
gone, and the bridal pair had departed. Miss 
Grant took Mi’s. Morris-Sparks, and slipping 
out the front door, let her in by a latchkey 
to the adjoining house which had for months 


344 


A DAILY BATE. 


been closed, with a “ For Eent sign in the 
window. This however had disappeared. She 
carefully locked the door behind her, and 
turning up the gas, pointed out the place 
where wide double doors had been roughly 
drafted on the wall between the two houses. 
She also enlarged upon some other improve- 
ments, among them a wide bay window to be 
added in both first and second stories of the 
front of the house. Then she took her up- 
stairs, and showed a suite of rooms beautifully 
furnished, and told the story of how the min- 
ister had bought this house and furnished 
these rooms for himself and Celia, and that 
the houses were to be connected, and the re- 
mainder of the room used to enlarge the 
boarding-house, in which scheme their hearts 
were deeply interested. She told her, too, how 
with careful looking to the little details she 
had been enabled not only to make both ends 
meet, but to have a trifle over, and how she 
hoped in the coming year with the enlarge- 
ments and her present experience actually to 
make it a paying business. 

And Mrs. Morris-Sparks looked and listened, 
and shook her head, but all she could say was, 
“ For the land sake ! Who would ’a’ thought 
itC’ 


CHAPTER XXYIL 


Hiram and Xettie Bartlett had been talking 
a good deal lately about running down to 
Philadelphia to see aunt Hannah and Celia. 
Hiram was feeling that a little ready money 
in his business would enable him to get through 
a hard time which he saw ahead. Xettie was 
missing aunt Hannah dreadfully, as the hot 
days grew longer. They had decided that it 
would be a good thing to forget and forgive, 
and open their home and as much of their 
hearts as was necessary to their relatives. 
Aunt Hannah would manage the kitchen, and 
Celia would manage the children, and Hiram 
would manage Celia’s money. Having decided 
matters thus, and made some changes in the 
arrangements of the rooms, to suit the new 
order of things, they began to feel very sure 
that it was to be. Of course aunt Hannah 
and Celia were thoroughly tired of living in a 
boarding-house by this time, and would wel- 
come the change, and they had but to speak 
the word and they would fly back to Clover- 
dale. But before they came, it would be a 

345 


346 


A DAILY RATEA'> 


pleasant change to take the children to Phila- 
delphia for a visit. 

'No sooner had they decided this than I^ettie 
wrote to aunt Hannah. 

The letter reached Philadelphia in the midst 
of plans for Celia’s wedding. They read it to- 
gether, Celia and aunt Hannah, and looked at 
one another in dismay. Somehow, in the joy 
of the life they were living, they had forgot- 
ten to write Nettie anything about Celia’s pro- 
posed marriage. Perhaps it was but natural, 
as Nettie very seldom answered aunt Hannah’s 
long letters, which had been written at regular 
intervals at first, until she began to feel that 
they were not desired. But now they both 
felt that Nettie must be invited. 

Celia summoned all the cousinly feeling she 
had ever possessed for Nettie, and wrote her a 
nice letter, putting into it a little touch of her 
sweet girlish joy over the happiness that had 
come to her. She finished with a cordial invi- 
tation to them all to come on, though the ad- 
dition to the family at this time would be ex- 
tremely inconvenient. 

Celia did fret a little over their coming. 
Hiram would be disagreeable and Nettie would 
want to manage everything, and the children 
would be always about when they were not 
wanted. 


DAILY RATE:^ 


347 


She was sitting one evening thinking about 
it, with brow knit in troubled thought, when 
Mr. Stafford came in. He watched her a mo- 
ment, and then taking both his hands he placed 
them over her ruffled brow and smoothed the 
wrinkles out. Then he bent and kissed her 
forehead fondly. 

‘‘ What is the matter, dearest ? ” he said. “ I 
mean to make it my business always to keep 
that troubled look away from your dear face.” 

“ Oh, Horace ! How can I help it ? I have 
tried and tried, but I do not seem to be able 
to conquer the habit. Indeed, I am ashamed 
of it. Can you not tell me how I can con- 
quer it ? ” 

Only by casting all your care upon him, 
who careth for you. Listen, Celia, have you 
ever heard this ? 

“ ‘ Wherefore should we do ourselves this wrong, 

Or others, that we are not always strong ; 

That we are ever overborne with care. 

That we should ever weak or heartless be. 

Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer. 

And joy and strength and courage are with thee? ’ ” 

Then Celia opened her heart to him and told 
him the story of her winter, beginning with 
her birthday and the little bookmark aunt 
Hannah had sent. 

“And I thought then, Horace,” she went 


348 DAILY RATE:' 

on, ‘‘ after that money came to me, my ‘ daily 
rate ’ for ‘ all the days of my life,’ that I would 
never doubt any more because I had money, 
and with that I would be able to relieve most 
of the other anxieties. But I found it wasn’t 
so. I began to fret about other things, and 
then after I got money, I wanted love, and 
now I have that, I find I’m still fretting.” 

“It’s because you don’t remember that it’s 
‘ for every day,’ dear, and that means for every 
need of every day. You trust for one set of 
things, but you think you have to worry along 
and look out for another set. Here is a quaint 
old poem I came across the other day that I 
cut out and put in my pocketbook to read 
to you some time. It fits in right here, let me 
read it * 

“ ‘ I have a never-failing bank, 

My more than golden store ; 

No earthly bank is half so rich, 

How, then, can I be poor ? 

“ ‘ ’Tis when my stock is spent and gone, 

And I not worth a groat; 

I’m glad to hasten to my bank. 

And beg a little note. 

“ ‘ Sometimes my banker smiling says. 

Why don’t you oftener come ? 

And when you draw a little note. 

Why not a larger sum ? 


A DAILY RATEA' 


349 


‘‘ ‘ Wliy live so niggardly and poor, 

My bank contains a plenty ; 

Why come and take a one-pound note, 

When you can have a twenty ? 

“ ‘ Nay, twenty thousand ten times told 
Is but a trifling sum. 

To what my Father has laid up 
For me in God the Son. 

“ ‘ Since, then, my banker is so rich, 

I have no need to borrow, 

But live upon my notes to-day. 

And draw again to-morrow.’ ” 

Nettie Bartlett settled herself for the home- 
ward trip from Philadelphia with a discon- 
tented look. She slapped Johnnie when he 
went to get a drink — which he did the first 
fifteen minutes of the journey — because he 
stepped on her toes. She jerked the baby up 
who was endeavoring to pick a piece of orange 
peel out of a pool of tobacco juice on the floor, 
and then settled into her discontented silence 
again. She was thinking about the fall sewing 
and house cleaning, and the endless darning 
and baking and cleaning, with no aunt Hannah 
to fall back upon. Occasionally, she reflected 
upon the bride’s pretty dress, or had visions 
of Celia in her cloud-like veil looking up with 
happy eyes into her husband’s face, and a half 
jealous feeling shot through her heart. She 
knew how Celia felt, or thought she did. She 


350 


A DAILY RATE. 


had felt so herself, but of course all such non- 
sense was passed. She looked gloomily across 
at Hiram, who was staring stolidly out of the 
window, with his inevitable newspaper lying 
across his knees. Then she curled her lip and 
told herself that Celia would soon have the 
sentiment taken out of her by the prose of 
everyday life. 

“ You made a great mistake by not cultivat- 
ing that minister-cousin-in-law, Nettie,” re- 
marked Hiram, snappily. “I talked to him 
every chance I got, but it takes women and 
compliments and that sort of thing to work on 
men, and especially ministers, I guess. You 
ought to have invited them to our house for 
part of their wedding trip. I’m dead certain 
he’s rich. Did you see all that furniture he’s 
fixed out for Celia ? He’ll spoil her the first 
thing off.” 

“You made a great mistake yourself, when 
you let aunt Hannah, and Celia, too, go away 
from our house, and you can’t ever undo it. 
Yes, I saw the furniture, but his mother sent 
it, for Celia said so. We might have had a 
few blessings, and our children would have 
been brought up right, if aunt Hannah had 
been with us. She always brings a blessing 
wherever she goes, and we’ve had nothing but 
ill-luck since she left us,” and Nettie put her 


DAILY RATEy 


351 


handkerchief to her eyes and wept while the 
train sped rapidly through the darkness. • 

Some weeks later, Celia seated in the pleasant 
study of the suite of rooms which were her 
new home, and yet her old home, engaged in 
the delightful task of classifying and placing 
in a cabinet the various clippings which her 
minister husband had gathered about him dur- 
ing his bachelor years, came upon this poem. 
She paused to read it and smiled with a little 
echo of the peace it spoke in her heart, and 
bent her head to thank her Father it was true. 

“ Tlie child leans on its parent’s breast, 

Leaves there its cares and is at rest; 

The bird sits singing by his nest, 

And tells aloud 

His trust in God, and so is blest 
’Neath every cloud. 

He has no store, he sows no seed ; 

Yet sings aloud, and doth not heed; 

By flowing stream or grassy mead. 

He sings to shame 

Men, who forget, in fear of need, 

A Father’s name. 

The heart that trusts forever sings. 

And feels as light as it had wings; 

' A well of peace within it springs; 

Come good or ill, 

Whate’er to-day, to-morrow brings, 

It is his will.” 




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